Autocrats and Peaceful Resignation in the Post-Soviet Space: A Political Culture Explanation

When faced with a large-scale, well-organised dissent, autocracies almost always use at least some form of repression. However, in some cases autocrats choose to peacefully resign raising the question why they do not prioritise their survival. I investigate a culture-related explanation coined as a ‘moderating’ theory – that high levels of country’s support for democracy have a ‘moderating’ cognitive effect on autocrats’ decision-making – in two such case studies of Georgia and Armenia. In Georgia, in 2003, President Eduard Shevardnadze (1995-2003) peacefully stepped down following a large-scale electoral protest. In Armenia, in 2018, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan (2008-2018) similarly abandoned his position without using military force when faced with the challenge of mass dissent.