ABSTRACT
Looking at two typical cases, the chapter investigates whether the relationship between authoritarian capacities, elections, and regime breakdown or stabilization can be attributed to the theoretical mechanisms of electoral manipulation fleshed out in Chapter 2. During the 1990 election, the ruling front in Malaysia relied heavily on its administrative apparatus and control over the economy to successfully carry out subtle manipulation that secured a supermajority victory. The elections underpinned regime stability. In the Philippines in 1986, capacities were limited, and the ruler’s more overt attempts at electoral manipulation backfired. In spite of President Marcos’s initial win, the regime succumbed in the aftermath of elections.
