I examine whether transitory events can tip the scales against authoritarian regimes and lead to persistent democratization. I think of situations where this is a possibility as democratic tipping points. The transitory events I focus on are rainfall shocks in the most agricultural countries in...

Security sector reform (SSR) is central to the democratic transitions currently unfolding across the globe, as a diverse range of countries grapple with how to transform militias, tribal forces, and dominant military, police, and intelligence agencies into democratically controlled and...

Although it is conventional wisdom that innovation requires free mind, diversity, or creativity all of which are closely associated with political and organizational decentralization, it is in fact more politically centralized countries in East Asia that successfully capitalized on innovation to...

"Since 1945, the liberal-democratic model of capitalism spread across the globe, ultimately prevailing over communism. Over the past two decades, a new statist-authoritarian model has begun diffusing across East Asia. Rather than rejecting capitalism, authoritarian leaders harness it to uphold...

Over the past thirty years, Morocco’s cities have transformed dramatically. To take just one example, Casablanca’s medina is now obscured behind skyscrapers that are funded by global capital and encouraged by Morocco’s monarchy, which hopes to transform this city into a regional leader of...

„China ist Boomland, längst einer der Motoren der Weltwirtschaft. Innenpolitisch blieb das Land autoritär, außenpolitisch zurückhaltend. Doch unter Xi Jinping, dem mächtigsten Staats- und Parteichef seit Mao, erfindet sich der autoritäre Staat neu, in offener Konkurrenz zum Westen. Kai...

This contribution explores the importance of independent organizations in authoritarian regimes. While some authoritarian governments delegate policy tasks to (relatively) autonomous agencies simply in order to improve their domestic or international image as modern political leaders or to build...

Authoritarian neoliberalism : towards a new research agenda / Cemal Burak Tansel -- Authoritarian neoliberalism and the disciplining of labour / Mònica Clua-Losada and Olatz Ribera-Almandoz -- Commodified pacification : police, commercial security and the state / Kendra Briken and Volker Eick...