Prof. Dr. Belén González

Research on postwar peace focuses primarily on how elites and institutions can prevent relapse into civil war. In line with this special issue’s focus on citizens’ experiences, we take a micro-level approach to explore peace beyond the absence of war.

When governments face severe political violence, they regularly respond with violence. Yet not all governments escalate repression under such circumstances. The authors argue that to understand the escalation of state violence, we need to pay attention to the potential costs leaders might face in doing so.

How do wartime legacies affect repression after the conflict ends? This study highlights the detrimental impact of war legacies.

Trinity College, University of Dublin Dublin: 08/02/2021

GIGA Event Online event: 02/04/2020 Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)

Workshop

Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg Germany

In today's global political climate, better understanding authoritarianism is of renewed importance. After decades of decline, authoritarianism appears to be on the rise. Over one-third of all countries and 40 percent of the world's population leave under some form of authoritarian rule. This third wave of authoritarianism is characterized by regimes' ability to adapt and consolidate institutions in a way that no longer follows preconceived authoritarian stereotypes. The seminar focus on understanding how authoritarian politics works. During the semester we will study who the key actors are within authoritarian regimes, how they come to power, what strategies they use to survive, and how they fall. We will engage
with state of the art literature and empirically based analyses on authoritarian politics.

Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg Germany