Publication

This brief examines elections in authoritarian systems versus those with additional democratic checks and balances. Using statistical models to assess the relationship between elections and unrest, the authors find that, during civil wars, elections are associated with four times more unrest than in non-election periods—a very significant increase in conflict. Surprisingly, there is not a strong association between unrest and elections held in post-conflict periods. The authors argue that, while elections are the sine qua non of democracy, they are not sufficient to address social grievances and can aggravate societal tensions in weakly institutionalized settings.