On Fareed Zakaria’s blog on CNN, there is an interesting short post by political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith of NYU, taking an excerpt from their new book.  The argument is very basic, but suggests an interesting research topic – does democracy become endangered when an economic boom is resource based and concentrated in the hands of a state company, thereby making the ruling party less accountable to voters?

While Brazil ascends economically, Mexico appears mired with slow economic growth, high unemployment and escalating drug violence. Yet, in terms of politics, it is in Mexico that democracy is likely to consolidate, while Brazil is at somewhat greater risk from increased corruption and authoritarianism.