International law has obviously never been the rule. But we’re hurdling into an era when it might not even be the exception.

Along with wonderful colleagues @jeanhong.bsky.social, @dnsltr.bsky.social, @yuhuawang.bsky.social, and Ann C. Lin, we would like to call your attention to the Asian Political History Workshop to be held on May 4– 5, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Apply here by Jan. 20, 2026. forms.gle/H9zPa6r2H1Ke...

My interview with @umich.edu professor Dan Slater on the current landscape of democracy and authoritarianism in the US & abroad. "Short-term extremely pessimistic and long-term at least somewhat optimistic"; watch out for weak authoritarians; fire up the non-cooperation & more @dnsltr.bsky.social

Amid a Global Democratic Recession, There Are Reasons for Hope

My interview with University of Michigan Professor Dan Slater on the current landscape of democracy and authoritarianism

michaelalbertus.substack.com

Stackable syllabus! The State in Comparative & World Politics Autumn 2025, @umichpolisci

Question: Why are many people under the impression that Trump and the awful things he’s doing are popular, even though they’re not? Answer: America is still a mostly free country where dissent against Trump’s dictatorial ambitions is widespread, but media keeps making it appear as if it’s not.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 11mo ago

What the actual fuck. US Tennis Association: “We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG [Electronic News Gathering] coverage.”

Popular youth-led resistance to collusive elite rule is being rejuvenated through mass protest in Indonesia and being strangled through judicial and military repression in Thailand. Curious then that the dominant narrative is that Indonesia, and not Thailand, is in “crisis.”

Indonesia’s protests over lawmakers’ perks reveal frustration: Three decades after the fall of the Suharto dictatorship, political and economic power remain in the hands of the elite. The protests may have died down but the fury is unlikely to fade www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Notable new piece by @dnsltr.bsky.social‬ just out in @jodemocracy.bsky.social /provides a nuanced though brief sketch of Thailand's turbulent political history--& has astute comments on implications of the Thai story for thinking about global trends www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

Polishing Off Populism in Authoritarian Thailand | Journal of Democracy

Thailand’s current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled its democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai...

journalofdemocracy.org

Thailand's current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled the country's democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai democracy. @dnsltr.bsky.social explains: www.journalofdemocracy.org/online-exclu...

Polishing Off Populism in Authoritarian Thailand | Journal of Democracy

Thailand’s current crisis may finally end the cycle of populism and polarization that has crippled its democratic aspirations. But it is also revealing that there are far worse forces undermining Thai...

journalofdemocracy.org

Honored to have contributed to this unfortunately timely @apsa.bsky.social Democracy and Autocracy newsletter edited by @rebeccawai.bsky.social with a piece on Immigration Policy as a “Biomarker” for Political Regime Transformation. 📌 Read all contributions here: lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/...

Dan Slater@dnsltr.bsky.social · last yr.

The connections between IMMIGRATION and AUTHORITARIANBISM are becoming more obvious and tragic by the day. Our latest issue of Democracy & Autocracy @umichDemocracy tackles these connections head-on, from multiple comparative angles: 1/6 ii.umich.edu/emerging-dem...

🧵 THREAD: A fascinating newsletter looks at Trump’s breakthrough with voters of colour, and it reveals something far more significant than conventional politics – the emergence of a new sort of reactionary coalition that cuts across race lines 👇

Dan Slater@dnsltr.bsky.social · last yr.

The connections between IMMIGRATION and AUTHORITARIANBISM are becoming more obvious and tragic by the day. Our latest issue of Democracy & Autocracy @umichDemocracy tackles these connections head-on, from multiple comparative angles: 1/6 ii.umich.edu/emerging-dem...

The connections between IMMIGRATION and AUTHORITARIANBISM are becoming more obvious and tragic by the day. Our latest issue of Democracy & Autocracy @umichDemocracy tackles these connections head-on, from multiple comparative angles: 1/6 ii.umich.edu/emerging-dem...

🔉 NEW! Podcast from @revdem2020.bsky.social featuring @dnsltr.bsky.social on his essay "The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave" from our latest issue! 👂 Listen here: revdem.ceu.edu/2025/05/05/a...

Authoritarian Waves Crashing: Dan Slater Reinterprets the Third Wave of Democratization | Review of Democracy

In the new episode of our monthly special in cooperation with the Journal of Democracy, Dan Slater discusses the authoritarian origins of the third wave of democratization.

revdem.ceu.edu

💡🧵 3 takeaways from @dnsltr.bsky.social dramatic rethinking of the Third Wave of democratization... Read "The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave": muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Another year of programming to be proud of @umichDemocracy! ii.umich.edu/emerging-dem...

💡🧵 3 takeaways from @dnsltr.bsky.social dramatic rethinking of the Third Wave of democratization... Read "The Authoritarian Origins of the Third Wave": muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

“We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote. “But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

NY public schools tell Trump administration they won’t comply with DEI order | CNN

New York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration’s ...

cnn.com

Mar-CHI-ng! #50501 #HandsOff

Bravo South Korea. This is what proper democracy looks like 👏 on.ft.com/3E7kvI7 South Korea’s president removed from office over martial law bid

South Korea’s president removed from office over martial law bid

Yoon Suk Yeol’s shortlived attempt to impose military rule triggered political crisis

on.ft.com

What if the 3rd Wave of Democratization (1974-1991) didn't begin with democratization at all? The only global regime wave of the mid-1970s was a wave of communist, peasant-based revolutions. By reinterpreting our past we might reimagine our present. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

My effort in 2022 to apply the “democratic careening” framework to US politics in the Biden years journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Threats or Gains: The Battle over Participation in America’s Careening Democracy - Dan Slater, 2022

Modern democracies comprise multiple institutions and diverse principles. This can make them vulnerable to “democratic careening,” as polarized actors emphasize...

journals.sagepub.com

Cancer research hasn’t cured cancer. Anti-corruption commissions haven’t eliminated corruption. DEI policies haven’t fixed inequality. Why? Because they’re tackling some of the thorniest problems humanity faces. None of these efforts should end.

The University of Michigan is now occupied territory.

1/🧵 Judges across ideological lines are ruling against Trump at strikingly similar rates (84% liberal, 86% centrist, 82% conservative). This isn't partisan opposition to Trump—it's the judiciary functioning as intended by cutting across partisan lines to uphold the Constitution.

"BACKLASH" understates how fiercely dominant forces respond to challengers. "SLINGSHOT" better captures how even a slight tug by challengers can lead to an enormous swing against them by the dominant. I raise the idea in this @NationalitiesP symposium: homsy-staging.cambridgecore.org/core/journal...

College students endanger no one. Authoritarian states endanger everyone.

The US won the geopolitical lottery having Canada and Mexico as neighbors. This kind of offensive nonsense is doing so much damage, not just to America's standing in the world, but to our security.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last yr.

Trump: "When you take away that artificial line that looks like it was done by a ruler ... you look at that beautiful formation of Canada and the US, there is no place anywhere in the world that looks like that. And then if you add Greenland, that's pretty good."

How much universities cave like big corporations will speak volumes about how much universities have (or hopefully haven’t) become like big corporations.