We develop a theory of political transitions inspired in part by the experiences of Western Europe and Latin America …. Nondemocratic societies are controlled by a rich elite. The initially disenfranchised poor can contest power by threatening social … unrest or revolution, and this may force the elite to democratize. Democracy may not consolidate because it is more …

We develop a theory of political transitions inspired in part by the experiences of Western Europe and Latin America …. Nondemocratic societies are controlled by a rich elite. The initially disenfranchised poor can contest power by threatening social … unrest or revolution, and this may force the elite to democratize. Democracy may not consolidate because it is more …

This paper explores the extent to which episodes of democratization can be explained by variation in income inequality … mis-specified models. Guided by a theoretical nuance of the new economic view of democratization proposed by Acemoglu and … Robinson (2001), our empirical examination considers the possibility that the effect of income inequality on democratization …

regime changes are often followed by redistribution to the poor at the expense of the former elite. We argue that the reason … why the elite may have to resort to full-scale democratization, despite its apparent costs to themselves, may be that …Regimes controlled by a rich elite often collapse and make way for democracy amidst widespread social unrest. Such …

distinguishes different subgroups of a society, some of which have a potential for pursuing a redistribution of wealth in its … redistribution cycles, leading to failed states. For much the same reason, democratic constitutions contain effective measures … against redistribution cycles. Stability within non-democracies, by contrast, can be explained by the fact that commitments …

We present a theory of endogenous political regimes that emphasizes overseas investments and that foreign governments … may either induce regime transitions or promote regime consolidations. In our theory, foreign intervention is driven by …