Parties of dissent: political institutions and mass mobilization in dictatorships

Why do some dictatorships experience episodes of mass dissent whereas others do not? This article highlights that the presence of opposition parties plays a central role. I argue that opposition parties enable collective action by overcoming communication and coordination problems between opposition actors, and that nonviolent mobilization is expected to be more effective than violent tactics in achieving their goals. A cross-country statistical analysis of all dictatorships between 1955 and 2008 shows that opposition parties operating both within and outside elected legislatures increase the likelihood of nonviolent mobilization, although sometimes they engage in both nonviolent and violent tactics simultaneously. A case study of Chile illustrates the mechanisms, showing that a moderate coalition of opposition parties coordinated antiregime mass nonviolent mobilization, while a few radical opposition parties resorted to violent direct action.