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<p>While opposition power in democracies has been vividly investigated recently, we lack comparative studies that include autocratic systems and evaluate power across regime types. The paper takes an important step to address that gap by a&#xa0;detailed analysis of constitutional opposition rights in all African polities. Africa represents an insightful sample since democracy levels widely differ. Moreover, the continent is largely neglected as opposition research is biased towards the Global North. The findings reveal variation in opposition rights contradicting the conventional wisdom that authoritarian regimes grant opposition forces no or less power. Opposition leverage is mainly associated with history-related and institutional variables but less so with political factors. A&#xa0;mini case study of Egypt illustrates the relevance of opposition rights under authoritarian rule. The index can be applied in a&#xa0;variety of other research which should especially focus on the conditions under which formal rights are used or subverted in less democratic regimes.</p>

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Comparing opposition power across regime types: the case of Africa

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月23日

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  • Danny Schindler

摘要

While opposition power in democracies has been vividly investigated recently, we lack comparative studies that include autocratic systems and evaluate power across regime types. The paper takes an important step to address that gap by a detailed analysis of constitutional opposition rights in all African polities. Africa represents an insightful sample since democracy levels widely differ. Moreover, the continent is largely neglected as opposition research is biased towards the Global North. The findings reveal variation in opposition rights contradicting the conventional wisdom that authoritarian regimes grant opposition forces no or less power. Opposition leverage is mainly associated with history-related and institutional variables but less so with political factors. A mini case study of Egypt illustrates the relevance of opposition rights under authoritarian rule. The index can be applied in a variety of other research which should especially focus on the conditions under which formal rights are used or subverted in less democratic regimes.