This report compiles our recent comment on Ahmed, Hodler, and Islam (2024, AHI-2024) and our response to the authors' reply to our comment. Our report is one element in a concerted forensic reproduction of studies based on data collected by GDRI, a Bangladesh-based survey company. We appreciate...

The literature on political socialization highlights the importance of parents and friends, but it is rare to find studies analyzing these socializing agents in the same model. In contrast, friends are often limited to one or a few friends that may not account for the actual effect of friends....

The literature on political socialization highlights the importance of parents and friends, but it is rare to find studies analyzing these socializing agents in the same model. In contrast, friends are often limited to one or a few friends that may not account for the actual effect of friends....

In this paper, we unveil targeted repression against journalists as an elaborate strategy used by modern autocrats to mitigate the risk of mass protests during autocratic elections—a common threat to their rule. Repression is deployed to discipline the media before elections to secure...

In this paper, we unveil targeted repression against journalists as an elaborate strategy used by modern autocrats to mitigate the risk of mass protests during autocratic elections-a common threat to their rule. Repression is deployed to discipline the media before elections to secure favorable...

This paper examines how network ties between local social leaders influenced the diffusion of mass protests in an autocracy. We focus on the Protestant Church and the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany. To quantify the role of leader networks in protest diffusion, we compile biographical...

Businesspeople are expected to invest in political connections when the institutions are weak. Using an original dataset from Russia in 2003-2010, we document changes in political connections of the richest businesspeople and show that within the institutional environment of a fledgling...

Authoritarian states are increasingly leveraging non-state cyber capabilities to expand their operational reach, thereby challenging conventional distinctions between state and non-state activity. This practice complicates attribution and presents obstacles for coordinated international...

Pressure groups may use bribes, violence, or a combination of both to bend politics to their will, and the choice between these methods of influence can vary depending on the type of institutional regime. We empirically investigate the dynamics of bribes and violence around elections in...

This is a summary of the EGE Statement "Defending democracy in Europe: Addressing the threat of authoritarian populism and reinforcing democratic practice". Recent years have seen a wave of far-right populism gaining momentum in many countries. The EGE analyses how this puts democracy at risk....

No Russian election since Soviet times has been manipulated to the extent we are seeing in the 2024 “presidential election”. The political context is dictatorial, the regime’s power grab comprehensive. The media are subject to wartime censorship, and there is not even a pretence of...

We examine the relationship between oil price windfalls and labor market regulation empirically through panel regressions in a sample of 83 countries spanning 1970-2014. We find that oil price windfall gains lead to a deregulation of the labor market in autocracies but have no effects in...

Mozambique has become a significant destination for a diverse portfolio of investments in mining, liquid natural gas, power plants, industrial complexes and large-scale agricultural schemes. Acquiring investments across sectors has re-emerged as a top national priority, though few of these...

Recent years have seen a wave of far-right populism gaining momentum in many countries. In this Statement, the EGE analyses how this puts democracy at risk. It formulates a substantive understanding of democracy that does not limit it to elections, but makes real the values and rights it is...

Climate change will increase the frequency of destructive weather events, such as storms and floods, posing heavy burdens on affected societies, particularly in the Global South. These disasters can create fractures between the state and its citizens, potentially leading to social unrest. To...

In many countries, the political backlash against neoliberalism has mainly been a retreat from democracy, with a decline in independence of the judiciary and the monetary authorities, increased control of the media, and manipulation of elections for purposes of authoritarian control. The...

Sowohl der Aufstieg Chinas als auch der Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine haben gezeigt, dass wirtschaftliche Offenheit auch Abhängigkeiten schaffen kann, die für geopolitische Ziele genutzt werden. Ein vermehrter Einsatz von Handelsbeschränkungen und Sanktionen kann beobachtet werden. Dabei...