Do Democracy Clauses Matter? The Effects of Regional Integration Associations on the Onsets and Outcomes of Coups d’état

Do democracy clauses matter in promoting political stability and democracy among its members? With the rise of regional integration associations (RIAs), questions arise as to their ability to secure political stability among member-states. Increasingly, various RIAs have adopted “democracy only” clauses in their treaties as a condition for membership. To date, however, research examining regime stability has overlooked the effects of RIAs’ democracy clauses on preventing autocratic backsliding. We posit that the ability of RIAs to prevent political instability and autocratic backsliding depends upon both the existence of a democracy clause and democratic commitment of the RIA’s regional leader.