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Autocracy and Redistribution: The Politics of Land Reform (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) Kindle Edition

by Michael Albertus (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
See all formats and editions
When and why do countries redistribute land to the landless? What political purposes does land reform serve, and what place does it have in today's world? A long-standing literature dating back to Aristotle and echoed in important recent works holds that redistribution should be both higher and more targeted at the poor under democracy. Yet comprehensive historical data to test this claim has been lacking. This book shows that land redistribution - the most consequential form of redistribution in the developing world - occurs more often under dictatorship than democracy. It offers a novel theory of land reform and develops a typology of land reform policies. Albertus leverages original data spanning the world and dating back to 1900 to extensively test the theory using statistical analysis and case studies of key countries such as Egypt, Peru, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. These findings call for rethinking much of the common wisdom about redistribution and regimes.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1107106550
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  4. Publication date
    September 15, 2015
  5. Part of series
    Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    4672 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great paradox of modern political life is that concentrated landed wealth is a great frozen ice cap blocking the emergence of modern democracy and development. Yet, democracies themselves seem less capable of implementing land reform than autocracies. To date we have only the barest understanding of the complex politics of land reform. In this careful and ambitious study, Michael Albertus untangles these puzzles, constructing the most comprehensive cross-national and historical dataset on land reform alongside carefully crafted case studies of Peru and Venezuela. The result is an argument that provides the most compelling political theory of land reform to date that has broad implications for the study of democracy, redistribution and autocracy."
Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard University, Massachusetts

"In this important book Albertus provides new answers to a range of questions about land reform. When does meaningful land reform take place? Why are some reform programs more efficient than others? Albertus' answers - for example, that land reform is more likely under authoritarian regimes than under democratic ones - challenge the conventional wisdom. This book will be of interest to comparative scholars as well students of economic development."
Barry R. Weingast, Ward C. Krebs Family Professor, Stanford University

"This book is an exceptional achievement. It combines theoretical and methodological sophistication with empirical richness. Albertus demonstrates that land redistribution is more likely under dictatorship than democracy and builds a persuasive argument about why that is the case. The book is an outstanding contribution to the literatures on land redistribution, democracies and dictatorships, political economy, and Latin American politics."
Scott Mainwaring, Eugene and Helen Conley Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame

"Albertus' book is a must-read for understanding distributive politics in Latin America and beyond. Albertus provides a crucial contribution to the discipline by focusing on the political incentives leading to redistribution under different types of political regime. Based on an impressive study of land reforms, he provides a novel theory for understanding land redistribution and the different conditions that led to land renegotiation and colonization. This shift to the incentives of elites and their institutional possibilities provides a crucial contribution to the literature on democracy and redistribution. He finds support for his theory using an impressive dataset of cross-national evidence combined with in-depth longitudinal analyses of Peru and Venezuela. Without doubt, this book will become a reference in comparative studies of development and distributive politics more generally."
M. Victoria Murillo, Columbia University

About the Author

Michael Albertus is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. His research interests include redistribution, political regime transitions and regime stability, politics under dictatorship, clientelism, and conflict. Albertus' most recent work has been published in journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Political Studies, Economics and Politics and Comparative Politics. He has also conducted extensive field research throughout Latin America.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0148L4UW0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press (September 15, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 15, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4672 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 363 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1107106559
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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Michael Albertus

Michael Albertus

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I am a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. I study inequality and redistribution, democracy and dictatorship, regime transitions and stability, and civil conflict. I have published three books: Autocracy and Redistribution: The Politics of Land Reform (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Authoritarianism and the Elite Origins of Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and Property without Rights: Origins and Consequences of the Property Rights Gap (Cambridge University Press, 2021). These books have been well received and I have shared some of their findings through Op-Eds in outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and elsewhere. I have also published over two dozen articles in journals such as American Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and Comparative Political Studies. || Further details at www.michaelalbertus.com. Twitter: @mikealbertus

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mulligan
5.0 out of 5 stars Successfully kills some already dead theories
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2018
Verified Purchase
While I think he really exaggerated the strength of the "democracy redistributes more" camp. His actual finding in Central and South America are really compelling -- that autocracy distributes more than democracy as a result of elite-elite splits and is mitigated by institutional constraints. And that in S. America colonization is a tool used to appease rural pressures for land reform where as redistributions result from aforementioned elite splits.

Overall, well written and convincing.
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Sam MacGregor
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read for Anyone Interested in Politics and Latin America
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2021
Albertus' book provides great insight into the functions of Latin America and complexities behind land reform. It dives into concepts like why land reform is so hard to accomplish, what factors can inhibit reform, and what a the long reaching effects of land reform and how it can take place. I highly recommend for any Political Science students or Politics enthusiasts. It can be especially interesting to those who have done work or research regarding property rights and inequalities, pairing well with Albertus' recent other book "Property Without Rights" which is also a good read.
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Zach
5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful and enlightening read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2021
A very interesting read on the politics of land reform, and inequality in the South American context that has many implications beyond Latin American. The book provides insight into the foundations of inequality around the world from autocracies to democracies.
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RJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021
This is a great book for political science students are anyone interested in that field. It explains an interesting topic, land reform occurring in autocracies more than democracies, in-depth with a lot of clarity.
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