Classifying political regimes revisited: legitimation and durability

This article presents a new typology and a new dataset of political regimes (1946–2010). The classification presented is based, in theoretical terms, on the distinctive patterns of legitimation exhibited by the political regimes. To demonstrate the usefulness of the classification, I explore the extent to which the classification and its theoretical foundation, namely the pattern of legitimation, helps to explain the durability of different political regime types. I compare the results and explanations with those of Geddes and Hadenius and Teorell in order to clarify the differences made by the use of the presented classification.