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dictators

May 13, 2024

♟️ Russia’s mercenaries are bolstering autocratic regimes in the Sahel

Marcel Plichta The spate of coups in the Sahel has been advantageous for Russia. Marcel Plichta and Christopher Faulkner argue that Moscow's mercenaries in the Sahel aren't to blame for the democratic retrenchment, but their presence is insulating and emboldening military dictators on their path to autocratic consolidation. Read more
September 2, 2022

♟️ Political purges and their importance for dictators

Austin Scott Matthews Political purges are dramatic, yet common, events in dictatorships, sometimes bloody and highly consequential. By dissecting the sequence of decisions behind these events, Austin S. Matthews shows that the way a dictator goes about a purge can determine outcomes like regime survival and risk of a coup Read more
August 12, 2022

♟️ Before categorising autocracies, we need to count them accurately

Edward Goldring Hager Ali launched this series by pointing out that 'we lack the terminology to do anything beyond counting non-democracies'. Yet Edward Goldring argues that we sometimes struggle to accurately do that. This raises troubling questions for analyses of non-democracies – and emphasises the importance of studying history Read more
March 11, 2022

Putin’s game of ‘chicken’ in Ukraine

Paul Whiteley Putin is staking everything on his conviction that the west won’t press the nuclear button, says Paul Whiteley. Sanctions will have little short-term impact, and a no-fly zone is of limited use when the major threat comes from ground-based artillery. Is it time for NATO to change tack, and go ‘all in’ against the dictator? Read more
March 4, 2022

🌊 Autocratisation: the key to capturing today's democratic difficulties

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
September 16, 2021

How dictators try, but ultimately fail, to create loyal bureaucrats

Alexander De Juan Dictators depend on committed bureaucrats to stay in power. To instil loyalty, some indoctrinate through enforced military service. Alexander De Juan, Felix Haaß, and Jan Pierskalla warn that this strategy can backfire. Rather than creating truly convinced cadres, conscription can help bureaucrats get better at faking loyalty Read more
August 10, 2021

Holding elections in Libya is not a solution to the country’s deep-seated problems

Hager Ali Only a few months remain before elections in Libya. But Western policymakers are focusing on election preparations and the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries, to the neglect of other pressing matters. Hager Ali argues that unless Libya tackles its political and military problems, elections may prove little more than a sticking plaster on a bullet wound Read more
August 6, 2021

🌊 Back to the future: illiberal democracy feeds on fascist ghosts

Luca Manucci Luca Manucci, in a panoramic survey of the rise of illiberalism in our times, argues that this trend is feeding on authoritarian historical legacies and memories which are being rewritten before our eyes. It is an exercise all democrats should challenge, and resist Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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