Authoritarian Political Systems Group
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apsgworkshop.bsky.social
Authoritarian Political Systems Group
@apsgworkshop.bsky.social
The first public workshop on autocracies. Hosted by @fabioangiolillo.bsky.social, @emisimison.bsky.social, @felixwiebrecht.bsky.social

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www.apsg.work
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Welcome to our Spring 2026 season!
To join any or all, remember to join our mailing list: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...
Join us tomorrow!!
Join us next week!
Anirvan Chowdhury (Lousville) will present "Parties against Democracy: How Ruling Parties Subvert Inclusion to Entrench Dominance".
@alexandermlee.bsky.social (@urochester.bsky.social) and
@bhumi.bsky.social (Georgetown) will discuss.
February 9, 2026 at 10:29 AM
New publication!
Collecting data is key for social science. @adridelrio.bsky.social, Woseeok Kim, @chknutsen.bsky.social, @anjaneundorf.bsky.social, Agustina S. Paglayan & @eugenian.bsky.social suggest how to enhance transparency and replicability based on education datasets
tinyurl.com/yskszsdt
February 5, 2026 at 2:08 PM
New Publication Alert!
"Beautiful authoritarianism: contributions of the leader’s wife in Egypt and Jordan" by Mustafa Menshawy is out in Third World Quarterly
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Beautiful authoritarianism: contributions of the leader’s wife in Egypt and Jordan
Authoritarian leaders constantly search for allies to harness their strategies for maintaining their hold on power such as repression, legitimation or co-optation. In this article I argue that the ...
www.tandfonline.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Join us next week!
Anirvan Chowdhury (Lousville) will present "Parties against Democracy: How Ruling Parties Subvert Inclusion to Entrench Dominance".
@alexandermlee.bsky.social (@urochester.bsky.social) and
@bhumi.bsky.social (Georgetown) will discuss.
February 3, 2026 at 9:40 AM
New Publication!
How do “fear dictators” become “spin dictators” once societies go online?@ildardaminov.bsky.social in @democratization.bsky.social traces how the Lukashenka regime in #Belarus and its bureaucracy have retooled their info control in response to #digital uptake
doi.org/10.1080/1351...
A fear dictator who is spinning? Conceptualizing authoritarian responses to digital uptake through the case study of information control in Belarus
Contemporary authoritarian regimes increasingly rely on digital technologies in their information control strategies, such as censorship, surveillance, and propaganda. However, the digital transfor...
doi.org
February 2, 2026 at 9:30 AM
New Publication!

Are younger Chinese more democratic?
Using nationwide survey data, Chen, Huhe, & Lint show that post-economic takeoff cohorts express lower democratic support, largely because of higher perceived material well-being—not declining democratic values
doi.org/10.1080/1067...
Understanding Generational Shifts and Democratic Support in China: Value Change Vs. Life Satisfaction
Generational change is often viewed as a key driver of major sociopolitical transformation, yet there is little consensus on why generations differ in their political attitudes. This lack of agreem...
doi.org
January 30, 2026 at 9:58 AM
New publication alert!
Contra common narrative, recent authoritarian moves by President Sall of Senegal have ample precedent in the country's political history - but so do civil society efforts to defeat them.
Read Alioune Ngom & @ricarthuguet.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/afra...
January 29, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Our first newsletter of the year is out!
To stay updated on the APSG community, subscribe here: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...
To send us your updates, please fill this form: forms.gle/wMqEnjAgJyxq...
January 28, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Join us next week for the first workshop of the season!
Join us next week to start the season!
@yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presents "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette H Ong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) discuss
January 26, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Authoritarian Political Systems Group
Join us next week to start the season!
@yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presents "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette H Ong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) discuss
January 20, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Join us next week to start the season!
@yezhang.bsky.social (@mitpolisci.bsky.social) presents "Political Control in the Workplace: How Autocrats Use Firms to Discipline Citizens". Lynette H Ong (@utoronto.ca), @woldense.bsky.social (Minnesota), & @linshengqiao.bsky.social (@utoronto.ca) discuss
January 20, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Welcome to our Spring 2026 season!
To join any or all, remember to join our mailing list: mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...
January 19, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Our Spring 2026 schedule is out!
Remember to join our mailing list to join us for any or all of these great sessions!
mailchi.mp/fe045331c9c7...
January 15, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Come join us 15-16 June 2026 in London!

The CfP for our 4th Annual Conference, co-organized with @qmul-sse-cgd.bsky.social, is open until 1 Feb!

We invite scholars of authoritarianism at all career stages to apply here: forms.gle/5eQ1NHMtK5GS...

For more information: tinyurl.com/2ap6attd
forms.gle
January 14, 2026 at 9:29 AM
RA Position!
@ozlemtuncel.bsky.social and @osamet.bsky.social are looking for support for a project on opposition coalitions in autocracies. If you are
- interested in opposition politics and electoral dynamics, and
- familiar with data collection
apply by Dec 31: gsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
December 19, 2025 at 9:15 AM
New Publication!
Performance legitimacy or informational autocrats? The question of political support in authoritarian regimes It's not as simple as it seems! Narisong Huhe and Jie Chen's new Asian Survey paper tackles this head-on in their study of China doi.org/10.1525/as.2...
Assessing Performance from SpacePM2.5, Pollution Perception, and Popular Support in China
Citizens’ assessment of government performance has long been regarded as a key determinant of their support for authoritarian regimes (“performance legitimacy”). But such regimes can cheat performance...
doi.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The last newsletter of the year is out!
If you have news or updates you want to share with the APSG community in 2026, do let us know here: forms.gle/wMqEnjAgJyxq...
December 17, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Don't miss the last workshop of the season!
Join us tomorrow!
Join us next week!
Jongyoon Baik (CUHK-SZ), Haohan Chen (HKU), and Yiqiang Wang (HKU) will present their work on Vocal Pitch and Emotions in North Korean TV News.
@alexdukalskis.bsky.social (@ucdpolitics.bsky.social) and Yeilim Cheong (Missouri) will discuss.
December 15, 2025 at 2:26 PM
New Publication!
Opposition often fails to coordinate. Why?
@draege.bsky.social and @maryhenjimenez.bsky.social find two overlooked drivers (⁠resource asymmetry and extraordinary times as stress-tests) in their deep comparative analysis of Venezuela and Turkey journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
December 10, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Join us next week!
Jongyoon Baik (CUHK-SZ), Haohan Chen (HKU), and Yiqiang Wang (HKU) will present their work on Vocal Pitch and Emotions in North Korean TV News.
@alexdukalskis.bsky.social (@ucdpolitics.bsky.social) and Yeilim Cheong (Missouri) will discuss.
December 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
New Publication Alert!
Discover how Kazakhstani senators subtly contest power through "embedded rhetorical contestation" in elite debates in @ildardaminov.bsky.social latest research.
#Authoritarian #Parliaments #Kazakhstan #PoliticalScience
tinyurl.com/wwaae67
Whispers of dissent? Analyzing the rhetorical alignment of the elites with the authoritarian incumbent through parliamentary discourse in the Kazakhstani Senate
Parliaments are often thought to be key arenas of elite signaling in authoritarian regimes. This paper examines the patterns of rhetorical alignment between individual elite members of parliament a...
www.tandfonline.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Come join us 15-16 June 2026 at @qmulsse.bsky.social for our 4th APSG Annual Conference co-organized with @qmul-sse-cgd.bsky.social !
To apply, fill this form by 1 February 2026: forms.gle/5eQ1NHMtK5GS...
For more information visit: apsg.work/call-for-pap...
Apply: 4th APSG Authoritarian Politics Conference
Complete the form to be considered for the 4th APSG Conference on Authoritarian Politics that will be held on 15-16 June 2026 in London (Queen Mary).
forms.gle
December 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
New Publication Alert!
Why and how has Decolonial Theory become a productive tool for far-right ideologues? Using the case of India, Shray Mehta in @sociologyjnl.bsky.social explains the utility of decoloniality to far right discourses and what we can do to counter it doi.org/10.1177/0038...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
December 4, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Want to know more about how entertainment fosters political compliance in an authoritarian regime?
Join us tomorrow!
Join us next week!
@rexdeng.bsky.social (WashU) will present "Screened Realities: How Entertainment Fosters Political Compliance in China" and @scottrw630.bsky.social (@ox.ac.uk) and Yingdan Lu (@nuschoolofcomm.bsky.social) will discuss.
December 1, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Our November Newsletter is out!
Have news and updates you want to share with the community? Let us know! forms.gle/wMqEnjAgJyxq...
December's newsletter will be earlier than usual so hurry up!
November 26, 2025 at 11:11 AM