The challenge of supporting democratization

In Metroland, by Julian Barnes, Barnes mentions how there’s a reason why autocratic dictators banned books. Books contain ideas, and … More

Urban politics

I recently attended a conference on South Asia at the London School of Economics where two chief economists from the … More

Gender

Jennifer Jacquet’s in her book shame (2016) argues that public shaming often facilitated through social media today serves as a powerful … More

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 … More

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 … More

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 … More

Elections

Elections, even if they’re haphazard, get people used to the idea of having them; it teaches people to be more … 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 … More