Juan José Linz Storch de Gracia (24 December 1926 – 1 October 2013) was a German-born Spanish sociologist and political scientist specializing in comparative politics . From 1961 he was Sterling Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Political Science at Yale University and later also an honorary member of the Scientific Council at the Juan March Institute . He is best known for his work on authoritarian political regimes and democratization.
19-910: Conducător ( Romanian: [kondukəˈtor] , " Leader ") was the title used officially by Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu during World War II , also occasionally used in official discourse to refer to Carol II and Nicolae Ceaușescu . The word is derived from the Romanian verb a conduce , from the Latin ducere ("to lead" or, "to drive" in Romanian), cognate with such titles as dux , duke , duce and doge . Its meaning also parallels other titles, such as Führer in Nazi Germany , Duce in Fascist Italy and caudillo in Francoist Spain . It
38-673: A confidant of President Josip Broz Tito , was an active campaigner for Croatian independence. Among other allegations, Krajačić was accused of having adopted the nickname " Conducător of Separatism ", as a compliment to Ceaușescu's dictatorial stance. Supreme leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler ( Führer ) of Nazi Germany , Francisco Franco ( Caudillo ) of Francoist Spain , Benito Mussolini ( Duce ) of Fascist Italy and Joseph Stalin ,
57-477: A cross-regional comparison of thirteen countries in South America, Southern Europe, and postcommunist Europe. It introducing a novel focus on stateness problems stemming from nationalist conflicts. It also argues that the type of old non-democratic regime affects subsequent trajectories of democratization. Linz's ideas about the impact of non-democratic regimes on the prospects of transitions to democracy launched
76-574: The Conducător' s charisma, were likened to various other dictatorial regimes of the 20th century, and included by Houchang Esfandiar Chehabi and Juan José Linz among the various "Sultanistic regimes" – the title itself has drawn comparisons with other ones created by dictatorial leaders for themselves: Aryamehr (used by Iran's Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ), Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (in Joseph-Désiré Mobutu 's Zaire),
95-778: The Imperial designation of Central Africa (under Jean-Bédel Bokassa ), Benefactor de la Patria (imposed by Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic ), and Conqueror of the British Empire etc. (in Idi Amin's Uganda ). Several Serbian sources have repeatedly alleged that the Croatian politician Ivan "Stevo" Krajačić [ Wikidata ] , a member of the League of Communists of Croatia inside Communist Yugoslavia and
114-496: The " vanguard of the working class " fell out of use, power became centered on Ceauşescu's prerogative to issue orders to the political apparatus. The choice of the term was also meant to highlight a symbolic connection with the Princes of Wallachia and the Princes of Moldavia (another comparison in use was that between Ceaușescu and the Dacian leaders of Antiquity). Additionally, during
133-414: The breakdowns of democracy and the transition back to a democratic regime. He is the author of many works on the subject, including Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes (1975/2000), The Perils of Presidentialism (1990), and Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe (1996, co-authored with Alfred Stepan ). He has been called "one of
152-671: The faculty until 1969. After a brief stay in Spain to help develop courses for the new Autonomous University of Madrid , he returned to the United States and became a professor at Yale in 1969. He remained at Yale the rest of his life. He was a founding member of the International Sociological Association 's (ISA) Committee of Political Sociology (CPS), along with Lipset, Raymond Aron , Shmuel Eisenstadt , and Stein Rokkan ; and
171-616: The finest political sociologists in the world" and was "legendary for the encyclopedic breadth of his knowledge." One of Linz's early works focused on General Francisco Franco 's Spain and classified Spain's political regime as an "authoritarian regime." This was an important innovation because at the time regimes tended to be classified as either democratic or totalitarian . Linz defined authoritarianism as possessing four qualities: In this classic work, published in 1975 and republished in 2000, Juan Linz provides an encyclopedic classification of types of political regime that develops
190-578: The fundamental distinction between totalitarian and authoritarian systems and also presents a discussion of sultanistic regimes. This work was foundational to the literature on authoritarianism . In this work Linz also provides as 'Litmus Test', a list of actions by politicians that can put democracy at risk. The list of actions are: The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes is a four volume coedited work with Alfred Stepan, that includes Linz's theoretical volume The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes. Crisis, Breakdown, and Reequilibriation . Linz focused on "how
209-604: The leader of the Soviet Union . Listed by date of establishment. In the 2012 movie The Dictator , the titular character was referred to as "Supreme Leader." Juan Linz Linz was born in Bonn , Germany in 1926. His mother, of Spanish origin, returned with him to Spain in 1932. He graduated with a degree in law and political science from the Complutense University of Madrid in 1947. He moved to New York in 1950 and
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#1733085368193228-428: The people in power in a democratic regime, not just the opponents, played a decisive role in the overthrow of democracy." Regime breakdowns were contingent, non-inevitable events. This work "challenged Marxist theories, which highlighted economic causes, as well as other approaches that focused on opposition groups to explain why democratic regimes collapse." This work on democratization , with Alfred Stepan , provides
247-658: The same period, Communist sources began depicting Antonescu in a favorable light. Starting from a model applied to the entire Eastern Bloc by Polish political scientist Andrzej Korboński, differentiating Communist leaderships in types of primus inter pares (collective leadership) and primus (personal rule), Cioroianu concluded that Romania's choice for the latter alternative was most likely based on local political tradition. In Cioroianu's view, Ceaușescu's system drew its other major source of legitimacy from political clientelism (resulting in what he called "an orbital political system"). The new political relations, largely based on
266-767: The use of the term, Antonescu meant to highlight connections with Germany, and after the fall of the Iron Guard from shared government (the National Legionary State ), his own personal regime. The term was occasionally used in official discourse as a reference to Nicolae Ceaușescu , leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania , starting in the period after 1971, at a time when the Romanian Communist Party grew in membership but decreased in importance due to Ceaușescu's increasing personality cult . It
285-626: Was President of the CPS in 1971-1979). He served as President of the Council for European Studies (1973-1974) and President of the World Association of Public Opinion Research (1974-1976). He was a member of ISA's Executive Committee (1974-1982) and its Scientific Committee (1974-1978). As a professor, Linz supervised 65 dissertations. His students include Alfred Stepan , Arturo Valenzuela , Jan T. Gross , Houchang Chehabi , and Miguel A. Centeno . Linz
304-454: Was awarded a doctorate in sociology from Columbia University in 1959. He took classes with sociologists Robert K. Merton , Paul Lazarsfeld , Robert Staughton Lynd , and Kingsley Davis . He worked closely with Seymour Martin Lipset . He wrote a 900 page dissertation consisting on "The Social Bases of West German Politics". Linz became a professor at Columbia University in 1961 and remained in
323-502: Was first employed as an additional title by King Carol II during the final years of the National Renaissance Front regime, and soon after employed by Marshal Ion Antonescu as he assumed dictatorial powers after September 14, 1940. Nominally, Antonescu was Prime Minister and the role of head of state was filled by King Michael , but all real power rested with Antonescu. According to historian Adrian Cioroianu , through
342-739: Was married to Rocío de Terán. On 1 October 2013, Linz died, aged 86, in New Haven, Connecticut . Linz received the Prince of Asturias Award of Social Sciences (1987), the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science (1996) and the Karl Deutsch Award (2003), in addition to honorary doctorates from several European universities. Various awards are named after Linz: In addition to his work on systems of government, he did extensive research on
361-553: Was used in parallel with the rarer cârmaci (" helmsman "), in turn borrowed from similar rhetoric as North Korea under Kim Il Sung and China under Mao Zedong after his visit to both countries in June 1971, as well as in parallel to caudillismo of anti-colonial Latin American leaders whom he met such as Fidel Castro of Cuba and Juan Perón of Argentina . While references to the Party as
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