Journal Abstract

Following the third wave of democracy, several countries got stuck in their transition to full-fledged democracy. These countries have been labeled, among others, as hybrid regimes. Hybrid regimes are neither fully democratic nor entirely autocratic, thus incorporate elements of both democratic and authoritarian systems and these present valuable research questions for political scientists. One avenue for research is legitimization and protests movements in a hybrid political environment. This paper explores how hybrid regimes respond to protests movements and the relationship between protest and legitimacy. Can protest movements provide an opportunity for these regimes to seek legitimacy? Protests movements in Bangladesh between 2013 and 2018 are examined. Two arguments are presented: first hybrid regimes adopt different strategies of responses co-optation or repression depending on a) the nature of the movements, whether the movement is pro or anti-government and b) the level of competition from the opposition; and second protests can provide political opportunities for hybrid regimes to utilize identity- or repression-based legitimacy. By analyzing the question of domestic legitimacy and the relationship between protests and legitimacy in hybrid regimes, this articles aims to provide insights into the mechanism that hybrid regimes use to consolidate their power.