№ 2 - 2013
Melville A.Yu., Stukal D.K., Mironyuk M.G.
“King of the Hill”, or Why Bad Institutions in Post-Communist Autocracies

Numerous researchers in comparative politics have pointed at non-linear J-shaped link between state capacity and democracy. This claim suggests that consolidated autocracies possess higher levels of state capacity than hybrid regimes. We test this conjecture using post-communist sample, 1989 - 2010, and do not find supporting evidence. The paper presents an original approach to measurement of state capacity and an informal model of the “king of the hill” explaining low quality of institutions in post-communist autocracies.