Civil Society within Authoritarian Regimes: A Case for Positive Theorising

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the dynamics of civil society within authoritarian regimes, challenging the dominance of normative frameworks that assess civil society against democratic ideals. Rejecting the “mirroring approach,” which relies on thickly normative comparisons to ideal benchmarks, the study adopts a positive theorising approach to uncover how civil society organisations (CSOs) navigate constraints and sustain autonomy. The research begins with a critical review of the literature, identifying four perspectives on civil society-authoritarian state relations: conflictual, cooperative adjustment, co-optative joinder, and symbiosis. Building on the symbiosis perspective, the study examines the role of formal institutionalisation in shaping CSO autonomy, understood as the strategic balancing of transnational ties and ties to the state, operationalised across financial and institutional dimensions. The empirical analysis is based on original survey data from CSOs in Russia and Turkey, representing hardliner and moderate autocracies, respectively. Findings reveal a “diffused effect” of formal institutionalisation: while aspects like professionalisation and formal commitment enhance institutional autonomy, rationalisation and bureaucratisation, unlike hierarchy, may constrain financial autonomy. In turn, formal commitment is determined by bureaucratisation and hierarchy. These effects are further moderated by the intensity of authoritarian rule – the regime variable. By bridging macro-level civil sphere theory with micro-level organisational analysis, the dissertation provides a fresh perspective on how CSOs manage interdependencies under authoritarian conditions. It critiques the reliance on normative judgments and descriptive inference in existing research and advocates for theory-driven, empirically testable explanations. In doing so, it advances an organisational theory of civil society that highlights the internal dynamics of CSOs and their interactions with broader societal structures.