"The relationship between development and democratization remains one of the most compelling topics of research in political science, yet many aspects of authoritarian regime behavior remain unexplained. This book explores how different types of governments take action to shape the course of economic development, focusing on agriculture, a sector that is of crucial importance in the developing world. It explains variation in agricultural and food policy across regime type, who the winners and losers of these policies are, and whether they influence the stability of authoritarian governments. The book pushes us to think differently about the process linking economic development to political change, and to consider growth as an inherently politicized process rather than an exogenous driver of moves towards democracy"--"In this book I explore how authoritarian governments intervene in markets to secure their position in power, looking at a policy area which is of vital importance in developing autocracies: prices for agricultural produce and food. I argue that authoritarian governments intervene in agricultural markets to resolve distributional conflicts between the rural and urban sectors and co-opt threatening groups into supporting their regime. By manipulating the prices of agricultural commodities, they respond to political threats posed by farmers and food consumers, and make significant contributions to regime stability. Contrary to previous accounts which emphasize the need for authoritarian regimes to provide cheap food for urban consumers, I argue that when farmers are a well-organized and powerful group, regimes mitigate the risk of political instability by increasing food and farm produce prices. What emerges from my study is a powerful revision of our understanding of development and democratization.

Food and agricultural policies are an unexplored source of authoritarian regime durability, but they also have consequences for development and the chances of democratization"--.