The Systematic Study of the Causes of Political Repression: A Retrospective Survey with Suggestions for Further Research.

The article examines the causes of political repression. It analyzes the impact of particular societal attributes on levels of repression, international pressures or interactions as causal variables and political or economic ideologies as key determinants in the amount of political abuse evident. It points out that democratic governments are more tolerant than their authoritarian counterparts. It argues that the very nature of democratic government revolves around the incorporation of opposing political views into the policies of ruling coalition.