From the racially segregated 'Jim Crow' US South to the many electoral but hardly democratic local regimes in Argentina and other federal democracies, the political rights of citizens around the world are often curtailed by powerful subnational rulers. Hybrid Regimes within Democracies presents the first comprehensive study of democracy and authoritarianism in all the subnational units of a federation. The book focuses on Argentina, but also contains a comparative chapter that considers seven other federations including Germany, Mexico, and the United States. The in-depth and multidimensional description of subnational regimes in all Argentine provinces is complemented with an innovative explanation for the large differences between those that are democratic and those that are 'hybrid' - complex combinations of democratic and authoritarian elements. Putting forward and testing an original theory of subnational democracy, Gervasoni extends the rentier-state explanatory logic from resource rents to the more general concept of 'fiscal rents', including 'fiscal federalism rents', and from the national to the subnational level.

‘Carlos Gervasoni's Hybrid Regimes within Democracies: Fiscal Federalism and Subnational Rentier States is an outstanding contribution to the literatures on democracy, hybrid regimes, subnational politics, fiscal federalism, and rentier states. It is theoretically innovative and important and empirically rich.'

Scott Mainwaring - Harvard University, Massachusetts

‘How do authoritarian populists emerge in democracies? Gervasoni's compelling answer is that they often arise in regions that depend on transfers from the federal government, which can be treated like rents. In Argentina, these rents fueled patronage systems that undermined democratic constraints and funded repression. This book suggests that the theory of rentier states – which explains how oil rents can undercut democratic pressures at the national level – can be applied more broadly to other kinds of rents, and to subnational governments. Hybrid Regimes within Democracies significantly deepens our understanding of democracy at the subnational level, the rise of authoritarian populism, and fiscal federalism.'

Michael L. Ross - University of California, Los Angeles

‘The notion that subnational units vary in the quality and practice of politics is part and parcel of a broader disciplinary move toward explaining ever more local phenomenon. Gervasoni's represents the very best of this booming area of research. He combines a broad theoretical orientation with the detailed knowledge and original data of a top-notch country specialist. Thanks to his efforts, we have a richer understanding of how democracy does (and does not) flourish across decentralized governments.'

Erik Wibbels - Duke University, North Carolina

'… book is important for several areas of study, including democratization, rentier states, federalism and subnational politics, and fiscal federalism.'

A. Siaroff Source: Choice

‘The book … makes important contributions to the scholarship of local politics at both a methodological and empirical level.’

Michael Buehler Source: The Journal of Federalism

‘… Hybrid Regimes within Democracies … offers a sophisticated analysis of the relationship between the distribution of fiscal resources to provincial governments in Argentina and the variation in the quality of democracy across the country’s twenty-two subnational units … this outstanding book is highly relevant and recommended read for those interested in exploring the impact of fiscal federalism on democratic politics and the institutional challenges related to improving the quality of democracy beyond the national level of government.’

Helder Ferreira do Vale Source: Democratization