In Metroland, by Julian Barnes, Barnes mentions how there’s a reason why autocratic dictators banned books. Books contain ideas, and…
Urban politics
I recently attended a conference on South Asia at the London School of Economics where two chief economists from the…
Gender
Jennifer Jacquet’s in her book shame (2016) argues that public shaming often facilitated through social media today serves as a powerful…
The international politics of authoritarianism
My last post focused predominantly on how Gulf monarchs managed to sustain their power. This week’s topic is about how other…
Authoritarianism and populism
When Francis Fukuyama proclaimed that it was the ‘End of History’ following the collapse of communism, I’m sure he didn’t…
Religious and social movements
In the context of authoritarianism, citizens have appeared to be victims of the game for power that elites play. It’s…
Elections
Elections, even if they’re haphazard, get people used to the idea of having them; it teaches people to be more…
Neopatrimonialism and ethnic politics
Neopatrimonialism and patrimonialism are different. They’re different in that patrimonialism refers to the “dyadic” (Edrmann and Engal) relationship between a client…
