Editing Hold-up problem (section)

=== Democratization of South Africa ===
During transition out of South African [[apartheid]], many white elites feared that democratization would result in [[tyranny of the majority]]. Now that fair elections were held, many wealthy whites feared that the longtime poor blacks (or their elected representatives) would [[Land reform in South Africa|expropriate]] land or wealth from the white minority. For this reason there was white resistance against democratic and fair elections. To ensure a peaceful transition (and to uphold the credibility of the elections), the [[African National Congress]] needed to make a commitment to protect the incomes and wealth of the white minority.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=R. P. |last1=Inman |first2=D. L. |last2=Rubinfeld |year=2013 |title=Understanding the Democratic Transition in South Africa |journal=American Law and Economics Review |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=1–38 |doi=10.1093/aler/ahs023 |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=bepp_papers }}</ref> This commitment allowed whites to respect the results of a democratic election which would put the majority blacks in power. That credible commitment from the ANC made the new democratic regime sufficiently attractive to whites in South Africa, otherwise they would not have agreed to transition out of minority rule.

This problem arises more generally in a political context: dictators such as [[Saddam Hussein]] do not surrender to superior force and leave power when it should be rational to do so, because they have no means of assurance that their property and their lives will be protected if they leave power.