Intra-Party Dynamics of Opposition Party Co-Optation in Electoral Autocracies

Autocratic incumbents often attempt to co-opt opposition party leaders to remain in power. Yet not all co-optation attempts are successful. In this paper, I explain when and why autocratic incumbents can successfully co-opt opposition party leaders by focusing on the internal characteristics of opposition parties. Using original data from Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem) on organizational features of major opposition parties in electoral autocracies between 1970 and 2018, I show that opposition party leaders are more likely to co-operate with autocratic incumbents when they have weak activist base and, when intra-party decision-making authority becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of the party leader. The study contributes to the literature on autocracies by showing how opposition party organizations can shape the ability of autocratic incumbents to co-opt political opposition.