Democratization

Democratic regression in comparative perspective: scope, methods, and causes Between 1974 and 2005, a majority of states became democratic for the first time in history. However, a global democratic recession began in 2006 and has persisted – and deepened – over the past 14...

📈 Larry Diamond’s “Democratic regression in comparative perspective” just hit T&F’s top Altmetric scores last week!
📖 Free to access through August: doi.org/10.1080/1351...
📊 Score details: www.altmetric.com/details/9064...

Concerned with conflicts over political liberties & the regime in federal states?
Just out in @democratization.bsky.social
- A new, regime-change driven „genotype of secession“.
- How it mattered in the breakup of the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia.
Is California next? www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

🇹🇳Me complace compartir nuestro nuevo artículo con @mhlarramendi.bsky.social y Antonio Alfonso:
“Voting with dissatisfaction: An analysis of the 2019 parliamentart election in Tunisia”
t.co/Y0CXK79EHf en @democratization.bsky.social
#Túnez @pablodeolavide.upo.es @humanidadesto.bsky.social

Democratic progress and women’s issue representation: evidence from the South Korean National Assembly, 1948–2022 How does democratic progress affect the evolution of women’s issues? Although previous studies showed the significance of democratic transition in mainstreaming women’s issues, little is known abou...

Now with page number! This article contends that women’s issues change as democracy deepens, and yet the relationship is not always linear but dynamic. We show it with 80 years of legislative debates in SK doi.org/10.1080/1351...

Civil society organizations in intelligence accountability: democratic ideals and practical limitations This study addresses a gap in Intelligence Studies by conducting an empirical investigation into how various civil society actors perceive their role in promoting accountability within the intellig...

How do authoritarian regimes wield tech? ‪‪@daraconduit.bsky.social‬ shows Iran’s digital authoritarianism isn’t just repression—it’s a state-building tool shaped by domestic political economy. Essential reading on authoritarian innovation. doi.org/10.1080/1351...

@williamhatu.bsky.social examines predictors for support for military rule. Perceived executive violation of the law, corruption in the president’s office + president’s underperformance influence support for military rule with trust in military as underlying factor. doi.org/10.1080/1351...

Think contested leadership races turn voters away? Think again. Competitive primaries aren't just democratic—they can also be an electoral asset. Javier Astudillo & @tonirodon.bsky.social @upf.edu doi.org/10.1080/1351...

What is a #regime? The answer is not as straightforward as it might seem, but is crucial for understanding how regimes operate and transform. Identifying procedural, actor-centred, and sociological approaches to regimes. @catherineowen.bsky.social #CEDARhttps://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2025.2483418

How vulnerable are democracies to authoritarian influence? T Kobayashi, @yuanzhouir.bsky.social et al. find that illiberal narratives from China & Russia shape public opinion more strongly than mainstream democratic narratives—even when both are presented together. doi.org/10.1080/1351...

“Politics unusual”? Bobi Wine, People Power, and the ideology of popular opposition in Uganda What key ideas animate contemporary political movements in Africa, and how do they challenge—or reproduce—dominant (neo)liberal conceptions of democracy, development, and international relations? T...

Bobi Wine’s rise in Uganda isn’t a break from liberal norms—it’s a reassertion. This article by Luke Melchiorre shows how People Power draws from liberalism despite its revolutionary tone, challenging assumptions about African populism. doi.org/10.1080/1351...

Title page and abstract for the paper "Populists before power: delegitimization strategies against independent judiciaries" by Philipp Köker, Tilko Swalve, Merle Huber, Christoph Hönnige and Dominic Nyhuis. An open access version of the paper is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2025.2470765

New paper with Tilko Swalve, Merle Huber, Christoph Hönnige & @donyhu.bsky.social now out in @democratization.bsky.social 🥳 We argue that we need to look more closely at the threats to liberal democracy posed by authoritarian “populists before power” 🚨
doi.org/10.1080/1351...

Democratic norm erosion and partisanship in the United States In recent decades, Americans have grown more dissatisfied with the performance of their democracy, while respect for basic democratic norms has eroded. In this article, we suggest a mechanism which...

Just read a new article in @democratization.bsky.social that I think offers an important insight for how pro-democracy actors should think about responding to Trump/Rubio's unlawful abductions of pro-Palestine activists:

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

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What is a “regime”? Three definitions and their implications for the future of regime studies This article examines how scholars use the concept of “regime” in comparative politics to provide stronger conceptual foundations for the future development of regime studies. We analyse 196 articl...

Delighted to share my latest article, entitled "What is a Regime? Three Definitions and their Implications for the Future of Regime Studies", co-authored with Licia Cianetti and Gianni Del Panta, published open access today in @democratization.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

What is a “regime”? Three definitions and their implications for the future of regime studies This article examines how scholars use the concept of “regime” in comparative politics to provide stronger conceptual foundations for the future development of regime studies. We analyse 196 articl...

This is a nice @democratization.bsky.social piece co-authored by @cais-exeter.bsky.social @catherineowen.bsky.social. I think my work is at the intersection of actor-centred & sociological approaches to regimes. The actors & their social context are transnational.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The will of the people: populism and citizen participation in Latin America Published in Democratization (Ahead of Print, 2025)

🚀 Thrilled to see The Will of the People sparking debate!
📢 A thoughtful review by @adrianbua.bsky.social explores how the book tackles democracy’s paradoxes—from participation’s promises to perversions. @democratization.bsky.social

🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Electoral autocracies, hybrid regimes, and multiparty autocracies: same, same but different? There is a wide range of labels, such as electoral autocracy, hybrid regimes, or multiparty autocracy, and corresponding empirical measures to describe and measure political regimes that combine au...

Ever felt uneasy about how concepts & measures of "grey zone" autocracies are used interchangeably across the literature? Then check out my 🚨new paper🚨 in @democratization.bsky.social and get some substance to back up your gut feeling: tinyurl.com/ypdm2kna Or at least read the main points below ⬇️

Electoral autocracies, hybrid regimes, and multiparty autocracies: same, same but different? There is a wide range of labels, such as electoral autocracy, hybrid regimes, or multiparty autocracy, and corresponding empirical measures to describe and measure political regimes that combine au...

New Publication! 📣
Did you ever think that all these measures for "hybrid" autocracies out there are kinda the same? Read "Electoral autocracies, hybrid regimes, and multiparty autocracies: same, same but different?" by @jonaswschmid.bsky.social in @democratization.bsky.social tinyurl.com/2vmyrw8e

All that is left is all that matters: the politics of social spending in authoritarian regimes This article investigates the political determinants of social spending in authoritarian regimes, focusing on health and education sectors. The theoretical argument builds on the assumption that di...

The article presents a summary of a substantive study conducted by @angelovpanaro.bsky.social and published recently on @democratization.bsky.social.

You can read the full article here:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

When do governments enshrine digital rights restrictions into law?

Our Centre PhD candidate Maurice Schumann @realmps.bsky.social, explores this in his first solo article in @democratization.bsky.social.

Read more here: www.hertie-school.org/en/news/deta...

My new article is out in Democratization!

I show how opposition parties in authoritarian regimes use local electoral wins as stepping stones for national-level victories.

Free access: t.co/tgxrZ2rCJe

@democratization.bsky.social @gcpolisci.bsky.social

Waging an endless war is Netanyahu's "blood gambit".

He'll gladly watch the world burn if that's what it takes to stay in power. @yusufsarfati.bsky.social and I wrote about it recently for @democratization.bsky.social.

Link: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

DM for full text.

Die Attacken der #noAfD und anderer autoritärer Populisten gegen Richter:innen und Gerichte nehmen zu! Auf Basis unseres Aufsatzes in @democratization.bsky.social (doi.org/10.1080/1351...) erkläre ich hier, welche Strategie dahintersteckt und wie dadurch die Unabhängigkeit der Justiz gefährdet wird.

New Publication! 📣
When do governments limit digital rights through law? Read "Legalizing Control: The Rise of Restrictive Internet Regulation in Sub-Saharan Africa" by @realmps.bsky.social in @democratization.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1080/1351...
For a quick overview, read the 1-pager below.

Collaborative authoritarianism and its unintended consequences Why do authoritarian regimes maintain access to open U.S.-owned social media platforms like Twitter and how do pro-government supporters use them? While the literature on consultative authoritarian...

This article by @brunofeuerheerd.bsky.social demonstrates how open social media applications allow loyalists to perform public opinion and police critical views in authoritarian systems, using original data from Saudi Arabia. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Remembering the counterrevolution: disappointment, denial, and demobilization While scholars carefully study when revolutions succeed and how they are overturned, far less attention has been paid to the public’s experience of revolution and counterrevolution as well as their...

How do counterrevolutions shape collective memory? In their latest article, @ernugent.bsky.social and Michael T. Hoffman explore disappointment & demobilization in Egypt. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Recall rules as a legalistic autocrat’s toolkit. The case of Zimbabwe While research on autocratic legalism has shown that incumbents deploy various legal instruments to ensure their survival, the use of recall rules to subdue opposition forces has received little at...

@danschindler.bsky.social explores how party-based recall mechanisms can serve autocratic leaders in maintaining control under the guise of legality. Argues for extending recall typologies to include party-based rules and investigates their "democraticness." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Egypt under El-Sisi: a nation on the edge Published in Democratization (Ahead of Print, 2025)

With my colleague @thaddaea.bsky.social, I reviewed @magedmandour.bsky.social's new book "Egypt under El-Sisi" for @democratization.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A tale of two cities: spillover effects of electoral shocks in non-democratic regimes Electoral shocks have spillover effects in democracies, as they can change citizens’ political attitudes and political behaviour across national borders. Yet, electoral shocks also exist in non-dem...

And also, a publication in Democratization @democratization.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1080/1351...

I was lucky enough that Valentina Petrović @sociology-uzh.bsky.social invited me to a book talk on "Structural origins of post-Yugoslav regimes".

Here I wrote down for @democratization.bsky.social @felixschulte.bsky.social why you should read the book:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Digital ballots, partisan bias: digital authoritarianism and support for internet voting in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine The answer to the question of why authoritarian regimes adopt internet voting seems simple: Internet voting is yet another upgrade to the authoritarian menu of electoral manipulation by making inde...

Voting technologies aren’t neutral, esp in the contexts of high political polarisation and electoral manipulation. In the new article, @faburkhardt.bsky.social & Jan Matti Dollbaum analyse surveys from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine on internet voting & public perceptions
@democratization.bsky.social