Jonathan Powell
Observers were quick to call the events on 8 January in Brazil a coup attempt. But Jonathan Powell and Salah Ben Hammou caution against conflating coup advocacy with coup attempts. Authoritarianism scholars should also note that usage of the term 'coup' has historically varied Read more
Abbey Heffer
Authoritarian regimes are not centralised monoliths. In China, authoritarian responses to protest can differ dramatically across localities. Abbey Heffer argues that research on regime-level authoritarianism often overlooks decentralisation. Studying aspects of authoritarianism, such as protest repression and concessions, requires a practice-based approach that reconciles national and localised authoritarianism Read more
Thareeat Laohabut
The fashion for seeing all authoritarian regimes through the lens of ‘democratic backsliding’ or ‘autocratisation’ has overshadowed our understanding of the strategies of classic authoritarians. Thareerat Laohabut uses the case of Thailand to illustrate this problem, showing how civil-millitary relations supporting the regime have been inadequately understood Read more
Julian G. Waller
The lure of typology is irresistible for social scientists, yet commonly used schemas classifying authoritarian politics still miss key variation. Our frameworks often rely on organisational assumptions set one level of abstraction too high. Julian G. Waller demonstrates how a closer look at constitutional structure can confront this problem Read more
Bakhytzhan Kurmanov
In Kazakhstan’s recent presidential elections, incumbent President Tokayev won an overwhelming majority, further consolidating his rule. Tokayev preaches democratisation. Yet, as Bakhytzhan Kurmanov argues, the elections were hardly democratic, and the reforms he proposes may mask an intent to strengthen his own position rather than empower Kazakh citizens Read more
Dawud Ansari
De-orientalising the scholarship on the Arab Gulf states is crucial, argues Dawud Ansari. Commentaries and datasets generalise them as ‘monarchies’, erasing vital differences between these countries. New terms are a starting point for transforming research on the wider region – an urgent objective given new crises and freshened global interest Read more
Guido Panzano
The likely installation of a neo-fascist Prime Minister has generated considerable fears for the future of Italian democracy. Guido Panzano argues that we should use the tools available in political science to arrive at a more scientific understanding of the prospects for the quality of Italian democracy under such a government Read more
Emilia Simison
We associate authoritarian regimes with certain policies. However, the relationship between regime type and policy is not straightforward – and not all transitions towards authoritarianism bring policy change. To better understand this, Emilia Simison suggests paying attention to differences within authoritarian regimes and how the adjectives of autocracy affect policy Read more
