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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If you're at APSA tomorrow, please consider joining our panel on ideology and propaganda in authoritarian regimes. Thursday 12:00–1:30pm, Sheraton, Hampton Room. Details below!

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Rachel Blaifeder @rblaifeder.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

All set up for #APSA2026! Come by and check out one of our 19 (and counting) prize winners, forthcoming titles, new books across American, comparative, IR, and theory, and highlights (looking at you, @smotus.bsky.social & @mirandayaver.bsky.social). 75% off HBs, 60% off PBs. See you at 9am!

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

How many Iranians support the Islamic Republic? In a new working paper, we answer this using a nationally representative survey of 2,000 adults in Iran—and the list experiment, a method for measuring sensitive attitudes.

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Korhan Kocak @korhankocak.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

My department, @iepolisci.bsky.social has three TT lines in CP, IR, and PE to start in Fall 2027. I'm on the search committee and happy to answer any questions about the lines, the department, the university, or Madrid (spoiler alert: they're awesome).

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Excited to share that my recent @ajpseditor.bsky.social paper, "Endogenous opposition: Identity and ideology in Kuwaiti electoral politics," received Best Article awards from @apsa.bsky.social's Democracy & Autocracy and @apsamena.bsky.social sections. A link to the article can be found below.

Title: Endogenous opposition: Identity and ideology in Kuwaiti electoral politics. Abstract: How do opposition elites succeed in authoritarian elections? Existing theories of authoritarian politics suggest a pivotal role for elections in enhancing the survival of incumbent dictators. Yet, in many contexts, opposition elites attract considerable support and constrain the policymaking authorities of these dictators. This article presents a theory of endogenous opposition that traces the electoral success of opposition elites to the strategic use of symbolic ideological appeals, or campaign appeals that cast politicians as allies of particular ideological movements. I present quantitative and qualitative evidence in support of my argument from Kuwait. I show that minority elites who use symbolic ideological appeals are more likely to capture voters from other minority groups. Once elected, these legislators are more likely to oppose the ruling family in the legislature. These findings challenge existing theories of authoritarian politics and point to ideology as an understudied source of opposition success in authoritarian elections.

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

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Rohan Advani @rohanadvani.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Pleased to share my latest article, “Banking on the Ruins of Empire: Developing Global Finance in Kuwait and Singapore,” published at Social Science History. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

cambridge.org

Banking on the Ruins of Empire: Developing Global Finance in Kuwait and Singapore | Social Science History | Cambridge Core

Banking on the Ruins of Empire: Developing Global Finance in Kuwait and Singapore

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Pleased that Al-Seyassah (Arabic) and Arab Times (English) published interviews with Erin York (Vanderbilt) and me about our recent @bjpols.bsky.social paper on cooptation in the Kuwait National Assembly. Grateful to both editorial teams for highlighting our work.

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Sean Yom @seanyom.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Jordan--where the most existential threat to national security comes from a peace partner (Israel) and where US military forces invite, not deter, foreign attacks My words in Arab Reform Initiative: arab-reform.net/publication/... via @ArabReform_ARI

arab-reform.net

Jordan’s New Security Dilemma

Geography is Jordan’s cruel master. Wedged between Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom has long weathered regional conflicts that brought refugee influx…

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Rory Truex @rorytruex.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Yesterday I recorded an ep with @danieltavana.bsky.social, one of the few political scientists with an active research agenda on Iran. We spoke at length about the regime, divisions in Iranian society, the prospects for democracy in Iran. One of my best episodes to date. Link in replies.

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Mashail Malik @mamalik.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

New paper in @ajpseditor.bsky.social. Is descriptive representation good for substantive representation? Why do voters stay loyal to corrupt and poorly governing ethnic parties? I argue that we ought to focus less on patronage and more on dignity concerns. Defiant pride can come at a price. 1/🧵

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Robert (Bob) Kubinec @rmkubinec.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

OK Sunday 8 am is not the best panel time. I get it. BUT tomorrow I'm presenting idealstan alongside 3 other banger papers on ideal points & measurement modeling. You want to know the latest & greatest in quantitative measurement, this is it. West 120 @ 8 am 🫡 #apsa2025

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

It was my great pleasure to celebrate @natalie-letsa.bsky.social's "The Autocratic Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization under Dictatorship" today at @apsa.bsky.social. Buy, read, and cite this incredibly important book! www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

For those in Vancouver, the Democracy and Autocracy Section will be holding our business meeting tomorrow (9/11) from 6:30-7:30pm at the Convention Center (West) Room 115. Our reception will be right after from 7:30-9:30pm at Steamworks Brewpub (375 Water Street). Come join us!

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Daniel Ziblatt @dziblatt.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Vicente Valentim, Elias Dinas, & I came together to do this paper because we have all long shared an intution: mainstream center-right rhetoric shapes democratic norms. The hard part? Showing it empirically. We make some headway in this new paper. Grateful to @bjpols.bsky.social for publishing.

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Elizabeth Nugent @ernugent.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

I really want to believe that American public opinion still matters. It makes me feel better that most Americans don’t support these policies. But other non-democracies demonstrate that once institutions have been politically weaponized, public opinion matters significantly less.

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The Review of Economic Studies (REStud) @reveconstudies.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

"Political brokers use social networks to identify & target reciprocal non-copartisans for vote buying. Parties recruit brokers central in networks to sway persuadable voters." From @rduartegonzalez.bsky.social, Finan, @hlarreguy.bsky.social and Schechter: www.restud.com/brokering-vo... #Econsky

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Bruce Desmarais @brucedesmarais.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

I had the fortune to help organize, speak at, and participate in, the second Open Scholarship Bootcamp at Penn State. The sessions emphasize resources that are helpful to maintaining open scientific workflows. Materials are openly available here! penn-state-open-science.github.io/bootcamp-202...

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Ala Alrababah @aalrababah.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Apply to EuroWEPS 12/13! We're organizing the next EuroWEPS workshops at Bocconi (Nov 14) and EUI (Dec 15) to discuss designs/papers focusing on causal inference. No presentations, just constructive discussions. Early career scholars are especially welcome to apply! Submission deadline is Sep 30

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Call for applications now open! @apsamena.bsky.social Methods Workshop on Engaged Research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) web.apsanet.org/mena/

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

New preprint with @cmparreira.bsky.social and Lindsay Walsh posted to @socarxiv.bsky.social: "From Protest to Parliament: Lebanon’s October Revolution and the Rise of Movement Parties." Link: osf.io/preprints/so...

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

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British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

From May 2025 - Legislative Cooptation in Authoritarian Regimes: Policy Cooperation in the Kuwait National Assembly - cup.org/4iVKa4R - @danieltavana.bsky.social & Erin York #OpenAccess

BJPolS abstract discussing how authoritarian regimes use legislative institutions to cope with economic and policy challenges, using the example of Kuwait's National Assembly and collaborative policy mechanisms.

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Babak Rezaee @babakr.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

If you’re curious the assassination of the IRGC commanders creates a rally around the flag. I suggest reading my recent coauthored article. #IRGC is not a liked in #Iran due to its participation in repression of oppositions. Some of Iranians actually celebrating it. academic.oup.com/fpa/article/...

academic.oup.com

Who Rallies Round the Flag? The Impact of the US Sanctions on Iranians’ Attitude toward the Government

Abstract. While politicians often argue that economic sanctions can induce policy changes in targeted states by undermining elite and public support for th

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𝙅𝙖𝙘🍩𝙗 𝙉𝙮𝙧𝙪𝙥 @jacobnyrup.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

A scary development in world politics is that dictators tend to stick around for longer

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Christiana Parreira @cmparreira.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Last month, Lebanon held its first local elections since 2016. Over the past nine years, the country has experienced a series of upheavals and crises - yet the most remarkable feature of these elections was (mostly) how much they resembled previous ones. Some key takeaways /1

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Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

OPM memo: Fed job applicants must now pledge in writing to implement Trump's political agenda. The final step in the Authoritarian playbook on the civil service: ✅ Purges disguised as "efficiency" ✅ Gut oversight agencies ✅ Weaken regulatory enforcement ➡️ Replace experts with loyalists ← UNDERWAY

open.substack.com

The DOGE Purge: Empirical Evidence of Politically Motivated Firings

And what it means for American Democracy

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Fabio Angiolillo @fabioangiolillo.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

*DEADLINE TOMORROW!* ⚠️

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Mashail Malik @mamalik.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Please circulate! @wpmarble and I are looking for a part-time RA to help with various data tasks. This is a remote-work position that is ideal for recent graduates who are considering applying for a social science PhD. Apply here: forms.gle/EN3JLUiNm8m4...

forms.gle

Research Assistant Position with Malik and Marble

Prof. Mashail Malik (Harvard) and Dr. William Marble (Stanford) are searching for a part-time research assistant (RA) primarily for a project on the political integration of immigrants in the United S...

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Comparative Political Studies @cpsjournal.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

New Article from our latest issue (Issue 7, 2025): "Mobilization Capacity and Violence Against Local Leaders: Anticlerical Violence During the Spanish Civil War" by Paloma Aguilar, @fdelacuesta.bsky.social, Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca, and @franvillamil.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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Ilayda B. Onder @ilaydaonder.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

In our new article, we show that groups that claim credit for attacks have shorter lifespans. Not because of government crackdowns, but likely from internal breakdowns. These findings raise questions about how state threats shape terrorist behavior and whether the logic of deterrence really holds.

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

For those interested in fieldwork and research ethics, this is a must-read by @separkinson.bsky.social: "Indiana Jones & the Institutional Review Board: Disciplinary Incentives, Researcher Archetypes & the Pathologies of Knowledge Production." Link: doi.org/10.1162/daed...

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

The Doha Institute is hiring a post-doc with experience in network analysis, statistics, and information technology. Link: www.dohainstitute.edu.qa/en/Careers/P...

dohainstitute.edu.qa

Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) was founded in Qatar in 2015 as a Doha-based independent institution of higher education.

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British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

NEW - Legislative Cooptation in Authoritarian Regimes: Policy Cooperation in the Kuwait National Assembly - cup.org/4iVKa4R - @danieltavana.bsky.social & Erin York #OpenAccess

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Our article on legislative cooptation and opposition in the Kuwait National Assembly is finally out at @bjpols.bsky.social! Key findings: bsky.app/profile/dani... Article link: doi.org/10.1017/S000...

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Matthew Cebul @matthewcebul.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Kicking off my time at @harvardash.bsky.social, @sharangrewal.bsky.social and I reflect on how the Trump administration's open embrace of illiberalism could fuel increased global repression -- but also protest -- during Trump's second term.

ash.harvard.edu

US democratic backsliding encourages repression abroad — but also protest – Ash Center

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Looking forward to presenting Iran-focused survey work at Princeton's Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies next week. Wednesday, 4/16, at 12:30 in Robertson 16. Come if you are around campus!

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Alice Xu @alicexu.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

🚨New paper out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social with Torben Iversen: doi.org/10.1177/0010... We empirically separate economic factors from cultural backlash as competing explanations for right-wing populism, and find evidence for the former. We define the concept of “unfunded public goods.” 🧵

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Carl Henrik Knutsen @chknutsen.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Our data paper on the Regime Support and Opposition Groups data was just published in @bjpols.bsky.social ! Co-authored with @sirianned.bsky.social , @magnusrasmussen.bsky.social and @torewig.bsky.social Here comes a relatively long thread (as is appropriate for a long-term project)

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Anne Meng @annemeng.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

🚨New paper alert!🚨 @anthlittle.bsky.social and I are excited to share “Presidential Election Concessions.” We present a new global dataset on concessions in presidential elections in all countries worldwide from 1980 to 2024 /1

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Very excited to welcome Melani Cammett to PSU next week! Join us if you're on campus!

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Excited to share my new article in the American Journal of Political Science (@ajpseditor.bsky.social)! "Endogenous Opposition: Identity and Ideology in Kuwaiti Electoral Politics" explores how authoritarian elections generate opposition to incumbent autocrats. Link: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ukrer...

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Daniel Tavana @danieltavana.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

I'm putting together an APSA panel focused on legislative behavior / ideology in authoritarian regimes. If you have something that uses evidence from legislatures in these contexts, shoot me an email: tavana@psu.edu.

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Anne Wolf @annemwolf.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

The Oxford Authoritarian Politics Network is organising a new conference 👇👇 ENGAGING DEMOCRATIC AND AUTHORITARIAN POLITICS SCHOLARSHIP IN CONVERSATION Please spread the word and circulate our call for papers widely!

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Authoritarian Political Systems Group @apsgworkshop.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Polisky Dictatorsky Join us next week, November 19! Rabia Kutlu Karasu (Stanford) will present "Seats of Loyalty: The Parliamentary Pathway to Democratic Backsliding" and @danieltavana.bsky.social (Penn State) and @orcunselcuk.bsky.social (Luther College) will discuss

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