Professors in the Pub: Competitive Authoritarianism in the USA?

Each month, come to Café Des Taxis to have a drink and discussion with professors and other experts about important events happening in the world. Share your questions and your views, and join the long tradition of politics in the pub.

In 2002, leading political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way introduced the concept of competitive authoritarianism: regimes in which meaningful political competition survives, but incumbents systematically abuse their power to make that competition unfair. Such regimes fall short of democracy while remaining distinct from fully closed autocracies. Long associated with countries such as Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bolivia, is it possible that competitive authoritarianism can now also describe the United States? What are the defining characteristics of competitive authoritarianism? How convincing is its application to the United States, especially in light of the recent elections? Is democratic recovery likely in the future? Come discuss these questions and ask your own.

The lead professor will be Pelin Ayan Musil, SIRD lecturer of authoritarianism.