Pathological links

The Zimbabwean election - an election in a classic competitive authoritarian regime, according to Levitsky and Way - is happening right now. Some useful links:

• The International Crisis group on what might happen in the election.
• For a somewhat shorter, and somewhat less gloomy view, see Adrienne LeBas in the Duck of Minerva.
• Mugabe's campaign ads.

Other links of potential interest:

• The latest developments in Venezuela.
• How to become a cadre in the Korean Worker's Party.
• We'll be talking quite a bit about protest later in the term; this is a good summary of the state of thinking about why protests sometimes take off, sometimes not.
• A deepening crisis in Libya?
• The perils of public opinion research in Gaddafi's Libya (by me).
• Color pictures from the Third Reich.
• Social Engineering in Burma.
• The Cambodian election just happened, and as expected the opposition lost but claims the elections were not fair. The essence of competitive authoritarianism! 
• Warlordism and control in Syria: who controls Syrian territory?
• A profile of Alex Navalny, Russian dissident, by socialists who dislike both his politics and Putin's.
• Jay Ulfelder on the economic consequences of coups. (Everyone in this class should read Jay's blog!).