Social networking sites are becoming an increasingly important channel for the transnational transmission of information. However, their role as intermediaries of autocratically controlled information environments reaching audiences outside the autocratic country's borders has not been...

An intriguing question regarding the relationship between international financial institutions (IFIs) and their Latin American borrowers concerns how and why regime type influences the degree to which the parties are prepared to sign loan agreements. Some scholars highlight a 'democratic...

This study analyzes the determinants and dynamics of military spending in the Middle East within the framework of critical political economy, based on data covering the period (1995-2023). The analysis combines approaches from political economy, the rentier-authoritarian state theory, and...

We re-analyze Szakonyi (2025), one of the most innovative corruption studies in recent years. Using data from Russia, Szakonyi (2025) estimates the effect of a political regime having compromising information (kompromat) over its politicians on legislative behavior, lobbying, and re-election. We...

Political polarization is an increasing global concern. Although recent research suggests that media exposure can mitigate polarization through persuasion, it is unclear whether polarized individuals are willing to engage with diverse news sources, especially in electoral autocracies where...

How does international assistance impact public attitudes towards donors in the recipient country when tied to strategic interests? European leaders increasingly highlight the strategic and transactional nature of international assistance. Yet, we still do not know much about how such shifts in...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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....

We examine the long-term health effects of peacetime conscription in the German Democratic Republic using a regression-discontinuity design that exploits the introduction of conscription in 1962 and resulting variation in conscription between birth cohorts. Conscription eligibility increases...

People seek positions of influence for material objectives, but it has been argued that people also seek power for its own sake. We propose a novel elicitation strategy that allows us to measure intrinsic preferences for power, where power is defined as influence over the outcomes of others,...

Autocratisation has become a defining global trend, replacing decades of democratisation and forcing demo­cracy promoters to rethink their approaches. Democracy promoters must adapt to several challenges, including autocratisation in target countries, the rise of powerful autocratic competitors...

How do e-government tools that enable direct online communication with the executive affect citizens’ support for autocracy? On the one hand, such centralised digital government tools may sway public opinion in favour of strongman rule at the expense of autocratic institutions; on the other...

Diese Studie untersucht das Zusammenspiel zwischen Identifikation mit dem Herkunftsland, autoritären Tendenzen und der Unterstützung des Politischen Islams unter Muslimen in Deutschland. Basierend auf einer repräsentativen Umfrage aus dem Jahr 2021 unter 1300 Muslimen in Deutschland wird ein...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...