Abstract

Literature review. Doing business in authoritarian contexts could be tricky. One reason is the implications of the difference in political, economic, and cultural systems between countries on their political economy. The other is the limited comparative knowledge available on the international political economy as a relatively new subdiscipline within political science and global business since Joan Spero's poplar introductory textbook in late 1970s. This limitation reflects the much-needed theoretical development within the literature on the Political Economy of Authoritarianism. The paper reviews the literature on political economyand utilizes a few cultural, economic, and political frameworksto offer critical comparative examination on the topic. Drawing on currentinterdisciplinary theoriesand combining assessment of national political, economic, and cultural frameworks,a new comparative analytical modelis developed.The modelgenerates knowledge to advance our understanding of the political economy of authoritarianism and to examine political economy across nations.