Dr Andrea Kendall-Taylor is Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Adjunct Professor in Political Science at Georgetown University. Prior to joining CNAS, Andrea served for eight years as a senior intelligence officer. From 2015 to 2018, she was Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Professor Natasha Lindstaedt is Professor of Government at the University of Essex where she directs the International Development Studies Program and teaches modules in international development as well as the politics of the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Africa. She specializes in authoritarian politics, state failure, corruption and democratization.

Dr Erica Frantz is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Michigan State University. She studies authoritarian politics, with a focus on democratization, conflict, and development. She is particularly interested in the security and policy implications of autocratic rule.

• 1: Introduction


• Part One: Defining Democracy and Dictatorship


• 2: Defining democracy


• 3: Defining autocracy


• 4: Dysfunctional democracies and hybrid systems


• 5: The consequences of democracy and authoritarian regimes


• Part Two: Political Dynamics of Autocracies


• 6: The durability of autocracy


• 7: Authoritarian instability and breakdown


• 8: Autocratic transitions


• Part Three: Drivers of Democracy


• 9: Economics drivers of democracy


• 10: Cultural, social and historical drivers of democracy


• 11: International drivers of democracy


• 12: Institutional drivers of democracy


• Part Four: Contemporary Challenges to Democracy


• 13: The rise of populism and its impact on democracy


• 14: Changing patterns of democratic backsliding and breakdown


• 15: Conclusion