Global threats to democracy – one of the world’s most important forms of inclusive governance – have been rising recently. This paper assesses the effects of social and economic inequalities on autocratisation, meaning a decline in the democratic qualities of a political regime. The key...

One of the most common adjectives used to describe democracy in sub-Saharan Africa is “neopatrimonial.” Characterized by strong executives, pervasive clientelism and use of state resources for political legitimation (Bratton and van de Walle 1997), neopatrimonial democracy has been...

Much of the scholarship on democracy was produced in a global context characterized by Cold War ideologies. In this context, democracy often came to be associated with capitalist societies that embody, first and foremost, principles of freedom, competition and self-determination. Equality, in...

Less than thirty years after Fukuyama and others declared liberal democracy's eternal dominance, a third wave of autocratization is manifest. Gradual declines of democratic regime attributes characterize contemporary autocratization. Yet, we lack the appropriate conceptual and empirical tools to...

At least since Lipset, the notion that democracy thrives (only) in countries where liberal or freedom-oriented values are widespread has been highly popular among political scientists and sociologists. The perhaps most eloquent argument for such a relationship has been proposed by Ronald...

It has been long debated whether regime types have impacts on human development. More specifically, compared to authoritarianism, are democracies more likely to provide public goods, including infrastructure that improve food provision and health care, and thus enhance health? Some studies...

Large-N studies suggest that democracy aid is effective, while multiple small-N investigations call such findings into question. This paper accounts for this contradiction and significantly improves our understanding of democracy aid effectiveness by disaggregating democracy aid into specific...

The role of civil society for the consolidation of democracy is contested. Some argue that Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are important “schools of democracy” and may foster democratic consolidation. Others emphasize that anti-democratic CSOs may undermine democracy. This debate is...