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Classifying political regimes 1800–2016: a typology and a new dataset

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Abstract

In the present text, we introduce a classification scheme where we decompose democracies and autocracies into several categories. Based on this classification scheme, we create a global dataset covering the time period 1800–2016. In the dataset, we make yearly observations for all countries that have been independent at any point in time since the Second World War. Regarding democracies, we first distinguish between republics and monarchies. We then split the category of republics into presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary systems. Within the category of monarchies, almost all systems are parliamentary, but a few countries are conferred to the category semi-monarchies. Authors differ markedly in terms of how autocratic regimes should be classified. In the present dataset, we classify autocratic countries into the following main categories: absolute monarchy, military rule, party-based rule, personalist rule, and oligarchy. Within the categories party-based rule and oligarchy, we also identify a number of subcategories.

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Notes

  1. The extensive V-dem dataset (Coppedge et al. 2017) is a highly welcomed contribution as it contains data on a wide range of regime variables from the year 1900 onward. This dataset is currently being complemented (historical V-dem), with data for the time period 1800–1920 (Knutsen et al. 2016). However, neither of these databases provides a qualitative categorization of the regimes of the countries (although some of the variables contained in the datasets are extremely valuable as a source for making such classifications).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Åbo Akademi University, Fänriksgatan 3, 20500, Turku, Finland

    Carsten Anckar

  2. Department of Management and Organization, Stockholm School of Economics, Saltmätargatan 15-17, 113 59, Stockholm, Sweden

    Cecilia Fredriksson

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  1. Carsten Anckar
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  2. Cecilia Fredriksson
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Correspondence to Carsten Anckar.

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Anckar, C., Fredriksson, C. Classifying political regimes 1800–2016: a typology and a new dataset. Eur Polit Sci 18, 84–96 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0149-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41304-018-0149-8

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