Salah Ben Hammou
Researchers of authoritarian politics and civil-military relations have long examined military rule. However, our understanding of civilian participation in military regimes remains limited and requires greater analytical attention, argues Salah Ben Hammou. Amid last year’s coup resurgence, researchers must move to appreciate the subtle but salient differences among military dictatorships Read more
Hager Ali
The study of regime types, Hager Ali argues, is imbalanced. Theories and concepts of democracy have received attention for decades. But amid the resurgence of autocracies, scholars of authoritarianism still do not have the luxury of nuanced typologies to dissect the broad spectrum of non-democratic regimes Read more
Rongxin Li
Unlike Western nations, China is reintroducing restrictions to counter the latest wave of Covid-19. Rongxin Li explains China's pandemic policy and its apparent acceptance by the Chinese people in the context of authoritarian resilience Read more
Kinga Korányi
Viktor Orbán has just emerged victorious in the Hungarian national election of 3 April, despite his pro-Russian stance and friendship with Vladimir Putin, which had been expected to tarnish his party Fidesz’s popularity. Kinga Koranyi argues that Fidesz managed to turn its response to the war in Ukraine into a successful campaign tool Read more
Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson and Nicholas Ross Smith argue that the West’s sweeping sanctions, isolation of Russia and passive-aggressive military support for Ukraine is fundamentally misguided. The problem with the US-led response is that it ignores – in fact, exacerbates – the deep-rooted ontological security concerns behind Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion Read more
Jasper T. Kauth
Not all illiberalisms are the same, argues Jasper T. Kauth. While anti-democratic, disruptive illiberalism and anti-liberal, ideological illiberalism may act simultaneously, analysing them individually will help us identify drivers of this phenomenon. Read more
Andrew Richard Ryder
Since 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has carried through measures that have undermined the rule of law, with no prospect for changing this trajectory. However, argues Andrew Richard Ryder, current events present opportunities for a return to democratic values in Hungary Read more
João Alípio Correa
The concept of 'illiberal democracy' is well-founded, but João Alípio Correa argues that it fails to convey what is happening in regimes described as such. To gain a more incisive understanding of the current deterioration in democratic regimes, he proposes the umbrella definition 'autocratisation' Read more
