Authoritarian Political Systems Group

New publication!
Collecting data is key for social science. @adridelrio.bsky.social, Woseeok Kim, @chknutsen.bsky.social, @anjaneundorf.bsky.social, Agustina S. Paglayan & @eugenian.bsky.social suggest how to enhance transparency and replicability based on education datasets
tinyurl.com/yskszsdt

Beautiful authoritarianism: contributions of the leader’s wife in Egypt and Jordan Authoritarian leaders constantly search for allies to harness their strategies for maintaining their hold on power such as repression, legitimation or co-optation. In this article I argue that the ...

New Publication Alert!
"Beautiful authoritarianism: contributions of the leader’s wife in Egypt and Jordan" by Mustafa Menshawy is out in Third World Quarterly
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Closing the season on May 5, @liviosilva.bsky.social (@weatherheadcenter.bsky.social) and Henrique Sposito (Bern) will present "Does democratic backsliding defund the liberal world order?" Anna M. Meyerrose (Arizona State) and @ccottiero.bsky.social (Utah) will discuss.

On April 21, @nvasilenok.bsky.social (Stanford) will present "Reading Orwell in Moscow" and @sgehlbach.bsky.social (Chicago) and @eugenian.bsky.social (@liverpooluni.bsky.social) will discuss.

Join us next week!
Anirvan Chowdhury (Lousville) will present "Parties against Democracy: How Ruling Parties Subvert Inclusion to Entrench Dominance".
@alexandermlee.bsky.social (@urochester.bsky.social) and
@bhumi.bsky.social (Georgetown) will discuss.

A fear dictator who is spinning? Conceptualizing authoritarian responses to digital uptake through the case study of information control in Belarus Contemporary authoritarian regimes increasingly rely on digital technologies in their information control strategies, such as censorship, surveillance, and propaganda. However, the digital transfor...

New Publication!
How do “fear dictators” become “spin dictators” once societies go online?@ildardaminov.bsky.social in @democratization.bsky.social traces how the Lukashenka regime in #Belarus and its bureaucracy have retooled their info control in response to #digital uptake
doi.org/10.1080/1351...

Understanding Generational Shifts and Democratic Support in China: Value Change Vs. Life Satisfaction Generational change is often viewed as a key driver of major sociopolitical transformation, yet there is little consensus on why generations differ in their political attitudes. This lack of agreem...

New Publication!

Are younger Chinese more democratic?
Using nationwide survey data, Chen, Huhe, & Lint show that post-economic takeoff cohorts express lower democratic support, largely because of higher perceived material well-being—not declining democratic values
doi.org/10.1080/1067...

New publication alert!
Contra common narrative, recent authoritarian moves by President Sall of Senegal have ample precedent in the country's political history - but so do civil society efforts to defeat them.
Read Alioune Ngom & @ricarthuguet.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/afra...

Our first newsletter of the year is out!
To stay updated on the APSG community, subscribe here: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...
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The workshops are held via Teams. Everyone in our mailing list receives the logging in information the week before the event. You can subscribe here: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...

Join us next week for the first workshop of the season!

Join us next week to start the season!
@yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presents "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette H Ong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) discuss

Join us next week to start the season!
@yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presents "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette H Ong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) discuss

On April 7, @sahibjafarov.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) will present "Defection in Silence: Theory of Elite Subversion in Authoritarian Regimes". The discussion will be lead by @annemeng.bsky.social (UVA) and Martin Dimitrov (@tulaneu.bsky.social)

March 24 will be time for @shirint.bsky.social (@weareceu.bsky.social) to present "Turnover and Turnout: Repercussions of Revolutions on Voting in Kyrgyzstan". Graeme Robertson (UNC) and Ksenia Northmore-Ball (@qmulsse.bsky.social) will discuss.

On March 10, Liza Popkova (@au.dk) will present "Authoritarian linkages and diffusion of repression". The discussants will be @rgolar23.bsky.social (@dublincityuni.bsky.social) and @debremaria.bsky.social (Zeppelin)

On February 24, @gmelios.bsky.social (LSE) will present "Propaganda, party mobilisation and Electoral Oppression". @felixhaass.bsky.social (Humboldt), @serkant.bsky.social (Sabancı), & @sofiavasilopoulou.bsky.social (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social) will comment.

On February 10, Anirvan Chowdhury (Lousville) will present "Parties against Democracy: How Ruling Parties Subvert Inclusion to Entrench Dominance". @alexandermlee.bsky.social (@urochester.bsky.social) and @bhumi.bsky.social (Georgetown) will discuss.

Starting the season we have @yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presenting "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette Hong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) will discuss

Welcome to our Spring 2026 season!
To join any or all, remember to join our mailing list: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...

Our Spring 2026 schedule is out!
Remember to join our mailing list to join us for any or all of these great sessions!
mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...

Come join us 15-16 June 2026 in London!

The CfP for our 4th Annual Conference, co-organized with @qmul-sse-cgd.bsky.social, is open until 1 Feb!

We invite scholars of authoritarianism at all career stages to apply here: forms.gle/5eQ1NHMtK5GS...

For more information: tinyurl.com/2ap6attd

RA Position!
@ozlemtuncel.bsky.social and @osamet.bsky.social are looking for support for a project on opposition coalitions in autocracies. If you are
- interested in opposition politics and electoral dynamics, and
- familiar with data collection
apply by Dec 31: gsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

New Publication!
Performance legitimacy or informational autocrats? The question of political support in authoritarian regimes It's not as simple as it seems! Narisong Huhe and Jie Chen's new Asian Survey paper tackles this head-on in their study of China doi.org/10.1525/as.2...

The last newsletter of the year is out!
If you have news or updates you want to share with the APSG community in 2026, do let us know here: forms.gle/wMqEnjAgJyxq...

Don't miss the last workshop of the season!
Join us tomorrow!

New Publication!
Opposition often fails to coordinate. Why?
@draege.bsky.social and @maryhenjimenez.bsky.social find two overlooked drivers (⁠resource asymmetry and extraordinary times as stress-tests) in their deep comparative analysis of Venezuela and Turkey journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Join us next week!
Jongyoon Baik (CUHK-SZ), Haohan Chen (HKU), and Yiqiang Wang (HKU) will present their work on Vocal Pitch and Emotions in North Korean TV News.
@alexdukalskis.bsky.social (@ucdpolitics.bsky.social) and Yeilim Cheong (Missouri) will discuss.

Whispers of dissent? Analyzing the rhetorical alignment of the elites with the authoritarian incumbent through parliamentary discourse in the Kazakhstani Senate Parliaments are often thought to be key arenas of elite signaling in authoritarian regimes. This paper examines the patterns of rhetorical alignment between individual elite members of parliament a...

New Publication Alert!
Discover how Kazakhstani senators subtly contest power through "embedded rhetorical contestation" in elite debates in @ildardaminov.bsky.social latest research.
#Authoritarian #Parliaments #Kazakhstan #PoliticalScience
tinyurl.com/wwaae67

Apply: 4th APSG Authoritarian Politics Conference Complete the form to be considered for the 4th APSG Conference on Authoritarian Politics that will be held on 15-16 June 2026 in London (Queen Mary).

Come join us 15-16 June 2026 at @qmulsse.bsky.social for our 4th APSG Annual Conference co-organized with @qmul-sse-cgd.bsky.social !
To apply, fill this form by 1 February 2026: forms.gle/5eQ1NHMtK5GS...
For more information visit: apsg.work/call-for-pap...