Ildar Daminov

Russia, Venezuela, Iran, China, the Sahel region, the United States ...

Want to know why state agents carry out brutal repression — or participate in illegal coups?

Our new book "Making a Career in Dictatorship" provides answers — it just got published by @academic.oup.com:

tinyurl.com/ystwm3tf

A very disturbing precedent.

From Fork to Feelings: How Foods Shape Mental Health via the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis

Latest review out in @annualreviews.bsky.social -Well done Aimone Ferri, Laise Paes & @elizschneider.bsky.social

www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
@apcmicrobiomeirel.bsky.social @anatneuroucc.bsky.social

I think "slams" might be too strong of a word though.

Will the army hold up Vietnam’s big reforms? Two visions for the country will collide at a five-yearly congress

To Lam’s goals for Vietnam—double-digit growth, less bureaucracy, closer ties with democracies—are ambitious. Even some of his supporters say the general secretary might be trying too much, too quickly

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...

How do “fear dictators” become “spin dictators” once societies go online? My new open-access article in @democratization.bsky.social traces how the Lukashenka regime in #Belarus and its bureaucracy have retooled their information control in response to #digital uptake: doi.org/10.1080/1351...

The Many Faces of Digital Authoritarianism European Consortium for Political Research

📢 #CfP We invite panel & paper proposals for “The Many Faces of Digital Authoritarianism” section at @ecpr.bsky.social ECPR General Conference 2026 (8–11 September, Jagiellonian University, Kraków.) Check our preliminary panels: ecpr.eu/Events/Event...
📅 Deadline: 5 January 2026 (midnight UK time)

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...

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

Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting.

Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.

One year after Assad: Syria’s struggle for security, recovery and reform Ellie Geranmayeh speaks with Syrian minister Hind Kabawat about the country’s turbulent first year after Assad, the challenges ahead, and her push to bring more women into leadership during Syria’s…

What does rebuilding Syria look like from inside the new government? On the latest WOMENP podcast, Minister Hind Kabawat—currently the only woman in the cabinet—discusses the country’s fragile transition and her mission to bring more women into positions of power.
ecfr.eu/podcasts/epi...

Kim Il-Sung is very proud.

As if the CPRF's history of awarding medals to the Russian Orthodox Church head (and vice versa) was not bad enough

The Shocking Truth About Gen Z Voters Is That They’re Pretty Great Stop panicking: They are the most progressive generation ever, especially on race. If that surprises you, you’ve been listening to the wrong story.

“The kids are alright. The real problem might be older generations projecting their own racial anxieties onto them.”

This is a must-read piece by two of the finest scholars of U.S. politics, @adambonica.bsky.social & @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

Hi! I am trying to do that in my dissertation, but it's a series of papers rather than just one (first the QCA; and then several case study papers following up on the QCA). Don't know if it's relevant, since it's not one unified paper.

The interplay of physical and digital authoritarianism: Methodological and theoretical challenges and approaches European Consortium for Political Research

#CfP Hossein Kermani is organizing the workshop "The interplay of physical and digital authoritarianism: Methodological and theoretical challenges and approaches" on April 7-10, 2026 at Vienna University. Please find the details here: ecpr.eu/Events/Event...
@ecpr.bsky.social

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...

🔍🇰🇿 Even in #authoritarian #parliaments, not all voices speak in unison. My new paper examines possible pockets of rhetorical dissent or "embedded rhetorical contestation" in #Kazakhstani Senate debates. The paper is now in OA thanks to @weareceu.bsky.social: shorturl.at/YoY9h

BJPolS abstract discussing the effectiveness of authoritarian governments in communication and policy-making, highlighting various strategies like addressing legislatures, managing media, and adapting foreign policies to foster acceptance and responsiveness.

NEW -

Autocratic Audiences and Linguistic Complexity - https://cup.org/4hBO2t0

"findings contribute to an understanding of authoritarian co-optation, elite incentives, responsiveness, and propaganda"

- Nikita Khokhlov & Alexander Baturo

#OpenAccess

NEW! The public opinion effects of antisemitic elite cues: a survey experiment on the Hungarian Soros campaign in @eepolitics.bsky.social w/ @bencehamrak.bsky.social @erinjenne.bsky.social G.Simonovits. Soros cues worked through partisan motivated reasoning & not antisemitism doi.org/10.1080/2159...

Very happy to join in and excited to participate this semester!

Excited to announce the publication of my article in Comparative Political Studies on how crises shape the ideological legitimation strategies of authoritarian regimes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Analysis | ‘Sammy’s Law’ would help parents monitor kids online. It’s gaining steam. The parents of a teen fentanyl poisoning victim are finding allies in Congress for a bill intended to save others from the same fate.

"If we want to protect children, we should be fighting for privacy laws, protecting encryption, and learning from Bluesky's model, where they allow third party algorithmic feeds and moderation tools."

Full-Time Assistant Professor of Political Science and Government
www.ipsa.org/na/job-offer...

A great piece. Practically, we need more research looking into thwarting autocratization.

#AcademicSky #SciPub #PeerReview #PhDSky #OpenScience #AcademicResearch #AcademicWriting #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #AcademicChatter #Comics 🧪

Very proud <3

⚡️🏳️‍🌈After Viktor Orbán’s government passed an anti-LGBT law to ban the Pride march in Hungary, Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony announced the city will officially organize Budapest Pride as a municipal event on June 28.

This means the ban won’t apply: police can’t disperse the crowd or issue fines.

Happy Pride.

No matter who you are, how you identify, you are valid and loved.

Picture of a Squirtle with text "Come out, Squirtle" and Squirtle looking at a rainbow saying "Wow! I'm so glad I came out!"

I support my gay little turtle squirrel

Essentially, the big tech narrative about #AI adoption in the #labor market as a boon for us to "have more time to be creative" and "spend doing what we truly love" is once again [surprise] a scam. Read more in the University of Chicago report:

bfi.uchicago.edu/working-pape...

Very proud of @benmshultz.com