Electoral ups and downs, state capacity, and economic control in Zimbabwe

The chapter explores the micro-level relationship between state capacity, economic control, elections, and regime stability in the elections in Zimbabwe in 2008 and 2013. The analyses both confirm and nuance the argument. First, although there was no general effect of coercive capacity in the cross-national analyses, coercive capacity has played a great role in the recent elections in Zimbabwe. In 2008, a strong and loyal coercive force bought President Mugabe his second-round victory. In 2013, the military played an important role, for instance, in coordinating manipulation of the voter roll. Second, the analyses reveal a number of informal ways in which dictators may control the economy, including appropriating resource rents without publicly recording them.