@skaaning.bsky.social
Professor of political science, Aarhus University Democratization, autocratization, state capacity, cross-national comparisons, social science history
How do different forms of state capacity protect democracy? D Andersen, @chknutsen.bsky.social & @skaaning.bsky.social argue coercive & administrative capacity affect stability in distinct ways depending on threat: buff.ly/6lpO8S3
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
Joint work with the brilliant
@kristianvsf.bsky.social
@sirianned.bsky.social
@aykutozturk.bsky.social
Open access article here π
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Our 32-country conjoint study on which societal characteristics citizens prioritize is now published at @bjpols.bsky.social
w. excellent @anjaneundorf.bsky.social @sirianned.bsky.social @aykutozturk.bsky.social
π¨ 3-Year Postdoc in Political Science at Aarhus University π¨
Iβm seeking to recruit a postdoc for my @erc.europa.eu research project π¬πΈπΌπ°π³π°π©πΉπ°πΌπ΄ on state-citizen interactions.
Link and more information in second post.
Position Start: Fall 2026
Application Deadline: βΌοΈ February 5, 2026, 23:59 CET βΌοΈ
Our study shows that escalation is shaped by patterns of state response and that exclusion sometimes emerge as result of violence. It also demonstrates how comparative qualitative case-studies can trace mechanisms, address endogeneity and measurement validity, and support cautious generalization.
15.11.2025 06:55 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
In three of the cases, mobilization was followed by inconsistent response by the government. In the last six cases, conflict itself produced exclusion, revealing recursive dynamics rather than a one-way sequence.
15.11.2025 06:55 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Does ethnopolitical exclusion cause civil war onset via grievances? In a new article, @lleipziger.bsky.social, Lasse Lykke RΓΈrbΓ¦k, and I reassess this relationship based on 15 case studies. Six of the cases followed the grievance/mobilization/rejection pathway proposed by the general theory.
15.11.2025 06:55 β π 15 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0
so well put
10.11.2025 20:18 β π 4 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
Fascinating paper by @grattonecon.bsky.social, @bartonelee2.bsky.social, and Hasin Yousaf!
The paper addresses a fundamental question: Why do some democracies chronically avoid ambitious, long-term reforms even when they have decent institutions?
They argue that what matters is not only
Interesting! Should be room to discuss this when we both visit Carl Henrik in a month from now :-)
23.10.2025 13:36 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0The findings will hopefully deepen our understanding of public commitment to democracy and inform strategies to strengthen it.
23.10.2025 08:56 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Through a multifaceted theoretical framework and comparative experimental surveys, DEMTRAP investigates when and why citizens come to see democracy as costly, how crises and polarization shape these beliefs, and what this means for democratic resilience.
23.10.2025 08:56 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Although democracies generally perform as well as or better than autocracies, many people believe democracy can be too slow or divided to solve major problems. Such views may erode support for democratic norms and open the door to authoritarian leaders.
23.10.2025 08:56 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Happy to announce that I, together with @kristianvsf.bsky.social, have received DKK 3,167,689 from Independent Research Fund Denmark to pursue the project Democratic Tradeoff Perceptions (DEMTRAP). We will explore citizen perceptions of possible tradeoffs between democracy and effective governance.
23.10.2025 08:56 β π 47 π 0 π¬ 3 π 1New article out on the relationship between different dimensions of state capacity and modes of democratic breakdown.
23.10.2025 08:53 β π 9 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0New version (0.6.0) of my #rstats package {democracyData} xmarquez.github.io/democracyData/ with @freedomhouse.bsky.social data to 2024, as well as several other sources, plus minor improvements all around
23.10.2025 04:26 β π 15 π 12 π¬ 2 π 0And another great potential read for graduate students on the measurement of "waves" of democratization and autocratization by @skaaning.bsky.social especially helpful for students thinking about periodization (including thinking about the contemporary "moment").
doi.org/10.1080/1351...
π¨ Are you interested in Historical Political Economy? π¨
At the Virtual Workshop in HPE (VWHPE)βorganized jointly with @dkofanov.bsky.social & @tinepaulsen.bsky.socialβwe discuss state-of-the-art research on a regular basis.
βΌοΈ We have just issued a new call for papers. βΌοΈ
Link & info in post #2.
How do different forms of state capacity protect democracy? Andersen, @chknutsen.bsky.social & @skaaning.bsky.social argue coercive & administrative capacity affect stability in distinct ways depending on the threat: buff.ly/Q4HDylB
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
How do different forms of state capacity protect democracy? D Andersen, @chknutsen.bsky.social & @skaaning.bsky.social argue coercive & administrative capacity affect stability in distinct ways depending on threat: buff.ly/Q4HDylB
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com
Happy to have been part this new publication on the relationship between different dimensions of state capacity and modes of democratic breakdown!
03.07.2025 12:30 β π 11 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0Forlaget har vist udskiftet linket til bogen. Den kan nu tilgΓ₯s her: unipress.dk/udgivelser/d...
13.06.2025 11:35 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0@chknutsen.bsky.social @liserakner.bsky.social @m-b-petersen.bsky.social @torewig.bsky.social @suthank.bsky.social @annebind.bsky.social @leneholmp.bsky.social @1864.bsky.social
12.06.2025 13:53 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Min bog - Dansk demokrati i perspektiv - skrevet med David Andersen og udarbejdet i forbindelse med Magtudredningen 2.0 er netop udgivet! Gratis E-bog og gratis lydbog er tilgΓ¦ngelige her:
unipress.dk/udgiv.../d/d...
π£ Jobs, jobs, jobs!
Aarhus Universityβs Department of Political Science is hiring:
πΉ Assistant Professor
π Deadline: 25 August
π international.au.dk/about/profil...
πΉ Associate Professor
π Deadline: 8 September
π international.au.dk/about/profil...
After 10 years of doing research in Historical Political Economy, this fall Iβll finally get a chance to teach a survey course on the field & Iβm really looking forward to it! π
I thought this would be an opportunity to create a syllabus with many essential contributions to this growing field.
Thanks again for organizing! It was, indeed, a great workshop!
24.05.2025 08:54 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
What a pleasure to direct this amazing @ecpr.bsky.social Joint sessions workshop on citizens democratic commitment with Hannah Werner - thanks to all participants for the exciting papers and stimulating discussions!
24.05.2025 08:08 β π 38 π 8 π¬ 3 π 3The same haircut - and the best. Welcome to the club ;-)
24.05.2025 08:46 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
ποΈNew WP with @morganlcj.bsky.social @timallinger.bsky.social and @danbischof.bsky.social
Against the surge of conjoints and other hypothetical experiments in relation to democratic backsliding, we study the consequences of using hypotheticals versus real-world scenarios.
osf.io/preprints/os...
