CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Ahadli, Ahad |
|---|---|
| Title | Boycott strategy of opposition parties in authoritarian regimes: Case of Azerbaijan |
| Summary | Although elections are the core elements of democratic systems, authoritarian regimes also organise elections. Opposition parties in authoritarian regimes, therefore, face a dilemma: participation or boycott? As previous studies demonstrate, the latter is a popular strategy among political parties in authoritarian regimes, from Venezuela to Jordan and Bangladesh to Belarus. Through boycotting, political parties aim to change public opinion against incumbent parties or leaders, damage the reputations of their contenders, preserve their resources, and protect their reputations. This thesis investigates the boycott strategy as practised by opposition parties in Azerbaijan, a typical case of an authoritarian regime. Opposition parties in the country have boycotted nearly half of the elections (presidential and parliamentary) in 33 years of independence. Taking presidential elections into consideration, which are more consequential than parliamentary elections in the Azerbaijan political system, classical opposition forces or parties have participated in only three presidential elections, while four presidential elections have been boycotted. This uneven strategy is evidenced by the multiple cases of opposition parties choosing to participate in some elections, yet boycotting others. To investigate the case of Azerbaijan, this thesis uses a within-case comparison method, through which the context of the different elections is analysed qualitatively. The research demonstrates that opposition parties in Azerbaijan boycott elections when they consider themselves weaker than the incumbent. |
| Supervisor | Matthijs Bogaards |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/ahadli_ahad.pdf |
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