The House of Representatives is investigating President Trump’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine’s government to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, one of Trump’s potential rivals in the 2020 presidential election. Research suggests that incumbent presidents generally have a modest advantage over their challengers in familiarity, fundraising and media coverage. But this is different. If these allegations are true, then Trump has been doing something that’s unusual in established democracies — but widespread in countries where the rule of law is weak, such as the post-Soviet region: using what political scientists call “administrative resources” — governmental power, or in this case, the powers of the presidency — to win elections.
Leaders in countries such as Russia, Belarus and, yes, Ukraine employ administrative resources in various and creative ways. CONT.
Scott Radnitz (U. of Washington), Monkey Cage