Far from sweeping the globe uniformly, the 'third wave of democratization' left burgeoning republics and resilient dictatorships in its wake. Applying more than a year of original fieldwork in Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Jason Brownlee shows that the mixed record of recent democratization is best deciphered through a historical and institutional approach to authoritarian rule. Exposing the internal organizations that structure elite conflict, Brownlee demonstrates why the critical soft-liners needed for democratic transitions have been dormant in Egypt and Malaysia but outspoken in Iran and the Philippines. By establishing how ruling parties originated and why they impede change, Brownlee illuminates the problem of contemporary authoritarianism and informs the promotion of durable democracy.

Jason Brownlee is Assistant Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. Prior to arriving at the University of Texas, he was a post-doctoral Fellow at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Professor Brownlee's research addresses domestic and international processes of democratization. His work has appeared in Comparative Politics, Studies in Comparative International Development and the Journal of Democracy.

1. The political origins of durable authoritarianism; 2. The inception of ruling parties; 3. Institutional legacies and coalitional tensions; 4. Ruling parties and regime persistence: Egypt and Malaysia during the third wave; 5. Elite defections and electoral defeat: Iran during the third wave; 6. Confrontation and democratization: the Philippines during the third wave; 7. Conclusions.