Politics in Personalist Autocracies

Autocratization is on the rise, leading to autocratic deepening, often marked by the personalization of power and a trend towards personalist rule. Despite these developments, the process of personalization and politics within personalist autocracies remain underexplored. These dynamics can involve interactions with elites—such as personnel management, cadre training, and leadership transitions—as well as broader engagement with the masses through personality cults, propaganda, repression, and the use of quasi-democratic institutions like referendums and constitutions. This panel invites papers that examine political dynamics within personalist autocracies, particularly those utilizing novel data. We welcome contributions analyzing cases from all regions, not limited to Northeast Asia.