Laura Gamboa

Book cover. Includes an image of tanks in front of the Brazilian Congress and the title: Lawmaking under Authoritarianism. Factions, Institutions, and Outcomes Across Dictatorships

New Publication Alert!
Why are legislatures in some authoritarian regimes more powerful and influential than in others?
In their book, Alejandro Bonvecchi and @emisimison.bsky.social answer this question by analysing past dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil, and Spain
www.cambridge.org/9781009676243

This is a terrific piece, with research included from a recent book by Notre Dame professor @lgamboa.bsky.social. The U.S. isn’t faring as well, because the elite - in Congress, in the Supreme Court, in business and media and more, have largely not recognized the threat as grave.

🚨 Republicans just passed a law to pack Utah’s Supreme Court by adding two seats.

Republicans are doing this following court rulings against their gerrymander and their attempt to gut the ballot initiative process that voters used to ban gerrymandering

🚨 Deadline is tomorrow! 🚨

Submit your abstract for the 4th APSG Conference in London 15-16 June here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The people of Minnesota are heroes. And the behind the scenes networks of immigrant advocacy organizations, churches, etc. are doing G-d’s work

Is Trump Going to Let Venezuela Starve? The country is rapidly tipping into a dire food emergency caused in part by the U.S. blockade.

As #Venezuela skids deeper into a "food emergency," Trump's de facto new alliance with the repressive, corrupt regime there makes the crisis even more deadly. My article @newrepublic.com. @deanbaker13.bsky.social @dceiver.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2056...

Authoritarianism is BY DEFINITION unevenly distributed. Venezuela's SEBIN, Pinochet's DINA, and Russia's FSB target some and spare others. ICE isn't any better. Saying that authoritarianism in the US is uneven is just another way to dress the fact that US is turning into a dictatorship.

For those of you interested, there is a relatively new podcast on democratic breakdown from Cornell's Center on Global Democracy led by @beattyriedl.bsky.social

newbooksnetwork.com/democratic-d...

I wanted to make a thread about the useful analyses coming out about the situation in Venezuela, but there is a lot, and everyday new things come out.

It may be more useful to share some of the existing analysis of how we got here. Books in no particular order and on various themes/issues...

🧵

Tomorrow is the day - please join us for what promises to be an engaging conversation with @lgamboa.bsky.social, Michael Coppedge, and Paola Bautista de Alemán. See you at 2pm in the Hesburgh Center!

Join us this Fri., Jan. 16, for a flash panel on Venezuela with @lgamboa.bsky.social, Michael Coppedge, and Paola Bautista de Alemán. Moderated by @aperezli.bsky.social at the Hesburgh Center. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4sy6Dv3

📢LAPIS abre nominaciones 2025:
🔹 Best Paper Award (deadline: 23 enero)
Más info: sections.lasaweb.org/sections/pol...

📢 Call for Nominations – LAPIS (2025)
Now open: 🏆 Best Paper Award (deadline Jan 23).
🔗 More info: sections.lasaweb.org/sections/pol...

📢 LAPIS abre nominaciones 2025:
🔹 Donna Lee Van Cott Book Award (deadline: 16 enero)
🔹Más info: sections.lasaweb.org/sections/pol...

📢 Call for Nominations – LAPIS (2025)
Now open: 🏆 Donna Lee Van Cott Book Award (deadline Jan 16)
🔗 More info: sections.lasaweb.org/sections/pol...

Autocratic capture comes to cities in Texas if this law passes.

As the US threatens Venezuela, top military commanders might note that Venezuela is a member of the International Criminal Court and it has refused to sign an "Article 98 waiver" with the US. That means that Americans could be brought before the ICC on war crimes charges.

Resistance to democratic backsliding is in many ways a fight to buy time. Not caving is key in that regard. It allows a very slow legal battle to play out.

Majority of Harvard’s Research Funding Has Been Restored As of Tuesday, Harvard University had recouped most of the federal research funding it lost when the Trump administration froze its access to grants earlier this year, multiple local news organization...

Compare Harvard's resistance aided by law with Northwestern's negotiations and eventual cave-in:

www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

As a newly minted Michigander I am proud to be represented by @slotkin.senate.gov. Thanks for speaking up Senator!

Postdoc Opportunity!

Purdue University

The Center for American Political History, Media, and Technology (CAPT) seeks a Postdoctoral Research Fellow specializing in research at the intersection of media, politics, and technology in modern America.

networks.h-net.org/jobs/69524/p...

11) Erosión democrática en Estados Unidos: una alerta roja para la región / Por @lgamboa.bsky.social

latinoamerica21.com/es/

Reflexiones sobre la erosión democrática en EEUU y su impacto en América Latina

This is the kind of campaign unleashed against the few Republicans opposing redistricting in Indiana…How can non-Republicans counteract that kind of pressure?

New article out in @polstudies.bsky.social!

Why do opposition parties in authoritarian regimes so often fail to coordinate, even when unity could help them win?

doi.org/10.1177/0032...

In this article, we highlight two overlooked drivers of opposition fragmentation 🧵

Democrats are challenging…🫥

The lack of leadership is appalling. The idea that Americans are unwilling to endure costs is insulting. They would… if Dems were able to lead them.

Thanks for the question :)

Not sure. I can see the advantage of giving people an image of something familiar. But these cases were so authoritarian that the comparison does not seem credible.

As a side, I think having closer comparisons is important for journalists and practitioners. There are lessons to learned there.