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
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
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
Zeynep MenteÅŸoÄŸlu Tardivo
Zeynep Mentesoglu Tardivo analyses the role played by nominally democratic political institutions in authoritarian regimes. She argues that rulers design such institutions to consolidate their power base, even at the cost of economic and political development Read more
Jun Koga Sudduth
Does the creation of nominally democratic institutions help dictators stay in power by reducing the risk of coups d’etat? Jun Koga Sudduth analyses and categorises different types of coup, and their effects. In so doing, she confounds the conventional wisdom that democratic institutions reduce the likelihood of dictators being overthrown Read more
Alexander Dukalskis
Authoritarian states deliberately use a number of tools to manage their image internationally, writes Alexander Dukalskis. Creating positive news, distracting and silencing critique, and shaping elite opinion help make the world safer for dictatorships Read more
Lars Pelke
It is a common assumption that autocrats have no incentive to redistribute income and wealth. Not so, says Lars Pelke. Uncertainty about the outcomes of autocratic elections can incentivise dictators to redistribute wealth, especially when the incumbents’ ruling coalition is inclusive Read more
Eduardo Burkle
President Jair Bolsonaro faces criticism from the media and civil society for his disastrous response to the pandemic. Reviving National Security Law to intimidate critics is more than a nod to Brazil's authoritarian past, writes Eduardo Burkle Read more
The Loop
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