CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Rightly fearing that unscrupulous rulers would break them up, seize their resources, or submit them to damaging forms of intervention, strong networks of trust such as kinship groups, clandestine religious sects, and trade diasporas have historically insulated themselves from political control by a variety of strategies. Drawing on a vast range of comparisons over time and space, Trust and Rule asks and answers how and with what consequences members of trust networks have evaded, compromised with, or even sought connections with political regimes. Since different forms of integration between trust networks produce authoritarian, theocratic, and democratic regimes, the book provides an essential background to the explanation of democratization and de-democratization.

Does democracy decrease state repression in line with the expectations of governments, international organizations, NGOs, social movements, academics, and ordinary citizens around the world? At present, most believe that a 'domestic democratic peace' exists, rivalling that found in the realm of interstate conflict. Investigating 137 countries from 1976 to 1996, this book seeks to shed light on this question. Specifically, three results emerge. First, while different aspects of democracy decrease repressive behaviour, not all do so to the same degree. Human rights violations are especially responsive to electoral participation and competition. Second, while different types of repression are reduced, not all are limited at comparable levels. Personal integrity violations are decreased more than civil liberties restrictions. Third, the domestic democratic peace is not bulletproof; the negative influence of democracy on repression can be overwhelmed by political conflict. This research alters our conception of repression, its analysis and its resolution.

Rapid increases in international economic exchanges during the past four decades have made national economies very open to the world economy by historical standards. Much recent economic analysis has been devoted to exploring the effects of such internationalization on macroeconomic policy options, national competitiveness, and rewards to various factors of production. Since economics and politics are so closely linked, there is reason to expect profound political effects as well: in particular, domestic politics in countries around the world should show signs of the impact of the world economy. The central proposition of this volume is that we can no longer understand politics within countries - what we still conventionally "domestic" politics - without comprehending the nature of the linkages between national economies and the world economy, and changes in such linkages.