The Social Origins of Democracy and Authoritarianism Reconsidered: Prussia and Sweden in Comparison
(2026) In Comparative Political Studies 59(5). p.979-1009- Abstract
- In a large social science literature, unequal rural class structures (“landlordism”) are associated with authoritarian political outcomes. This paper revisits the debate, focus- ing on the landlords’ ideological domination of the lower classes and anti-democratic attitudes in estate-dominated areas. We contrast the authoritarian landlordism model with a perspective where inequality fosters leftist mobilization if landlords fail to assert hegemony. Analyzing Prussia and Sweden–often seen as opposites in terms of their ru- ral class structures–we challenge the view of Sweden as egalitarian, showing its agrarian inequality was similar to Prussia’s. Examining within-country correlations between land inequality and electoral support for... (More)
- In a large social science literature, unequal rural class structures (“landlordism”) are associated with authoritarian political outcomes. This paper revisits the debate, focus- ing on the landlords’ ideological domination of the lower classes and anti-democratic attitudes in estate-dominated areas. We contrast the authoritarian landlordism model with a perspective where inequality fosters leftist mobilization if landlords fail to assert hegemony. Analyzing Prussia and Sweden–often seen as opposites in terms of their ru- ral class structures–we challenge the view of Sweden as egalitarian, showing its agrarian inequality was similar to Prussia’s. Examining within-country correlations between land inequality and electoral support for Conservatives, Nazis, and voter turnout, we find no evidence supporting the authoritarian landlordism model. Instead, our results empha- size the role of popular mobilization in Sweden and landlords’ weakening influence in Prussia. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/bbb5be5a-5dcd-49e0-9a84-288ae10fd7d6
- author
- Bengtsson, Erik LU and Kersting, Felix
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Comparative Political Studies
- volume
- 59
- issue
- 5
- pages
- 979 - 1009
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105008065673
- ISSN
- 1552-3829
- DOI
- 10.1177/00104140251349645
- project
- The Swedish transition to equality: income inequality with new micro data, 1862–1970
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bbb5be5a-5dcd-49e0-9a84-288ae10fd7d6
- alternative location
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00104140251349645
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-11 15:21:02
- date last changed
- 2026-06-10 09:12:54
@article{bbb5be5a-5dcd-49e0-9a84-288ae10fd7d6,
abstract = {{In a large social science literature, unequal rural class structures (“landlordism”) are associated with authoritarian political outcomes. This paper revisits the debate, focus- ing on the landlords’ ideological domination of the lower classes and anti-democratic attitudes in estate-dominated areas. We contrast the authoritarian landlordism model with a perspective where inequality fosters leftist mobilization if landlords fail to assert hegemony. Analyzing Prussia and Sweden–often seen as opposites in terms of their ru- ral class structures–we challenge the view of Sweden as egalitarian, showing its agrarian inequality was similar to Prussia’s. Examining within-country correlations between land inequality and electoral support for Conservatives, Nazis, and voter turnout, we find no evidence supporting the authoritarian landlordism model. Instead, our results empha- size the role of popular mobilization in Sweden and landlords’ weakening influence in Prussia.}},
author = {{Bengtsson, Erik and Kersting, Felix}},
issn = {{1552-3829}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
pages = {{979--1009}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Comparative Political Studies}},
title = {{The Social Origins of Democracy and Authoritarianism Reconsidered: Prussia and Sweden in Comparison}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00104140251349645}},
doi = {{10.1177/00104140251349645}},
volume = {{59}},
year = {{2026}},
}