Ruling Coalition Spell:
It is defined as the uninterrupted period of authoritarian rule in a country that witnesses peaceful transition of power from one dictator to another.
Coup d’état:
In the book, Coup d’état is defined as overthrow of a dictator by elites from his power sharing circle.
Established autocracy:
It is defined as a position when a dictator is able to wrestle complete control from his power sharing elites and no one is able to challenge his claim to the seat.
Contested autocracy:
A condition where a balance of power exist between dictator and elites. Dictator is unable to increase his power at the cost of his allies because he perceives a genuine threat of rebellion them.
Institutions in authoritarian regimes:
Institutions that formalize rules of business between dictator and his allies and serve for the survival of a dictatorship.
Dictatorship:
A regime where,
No free, fair and competitive elections, No direct elections to elect executive in a presidential system and no indirect elections to elect executive in a parliamentary system and no civil liberties are guaranteed.
Hi Muhammad! Overall, I think this is a useful way to organize Svolik’s concepts. It almost acts as a glossary for the key terms and ideas the book discusses, and is a helpful tool in understanding the basics of Svolik’s research. I would have liked to have seen this “fleshed out” more, with a more comprehensive discussion of important topics such as internal power struggles, which the book spends a great amount of time on. You touch on this with your mentions of the coup d’état and contested autocracy, but a deeper discussion of the balance of power in authoritarian regimes and how the main concept of authoritarian power sharing affects this is warranted here. You definitely defined the correct concepts, but they just need more detail.