Social structure and autocracy

The global tide of authoritarianism has provided fresh impetus to understanding the social bases of support for autocratic political regimes. This chapter surveys the classic and more recent literature on the social structural underpinnings of authoritarianism. Burgeoning literature in political science has provided insights into the contemporary incentives, motivations, and resources of citizens and various social groups to challenge or support autocrats. This chapter underlines the role of human capital as a variable that shapes resistance to dictatorship, particularly in the knowledge economies of the present. Autocrats exploit the vulnerability of poorly educated citizens to bolster their power. Highly educated citizens are not only better able to scrutinize autocratic media “spin,” but have the human capital to join high-status and geographically mobile occupations—in technology, academia, or entrepreneurship—and thus represent islands of relative autonomy from authoritarian regimes.