The democratization of a national government is only a first step in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory. Even after a national government is democratized, subnational authoritarian enclaves often continue to deny rights to citizens of local jurisdictions. Edward L. Gibson offers new theoretical perspectives for the study of democratization in his exploration of this phenomenon. His theory of boundary control captures the conflict pattern between incumbents and oppositions when a national democratic government exists alongside authoritarian provinces (or states ). He...
The democratization of a national government is only a first step in the diffusion of democracy throughout a country's territory. Even after a nationa...