Steven Levitsky und Lucan Ahmad Way
Harvard und Toronto
Distinguished Fellows 2026
Capitalist Development and the Social Foundations of Democracy
Although the relationship between economic development and democracy is largely uncontested, scholars continue to differ over the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Contra most contemporary theories, which focus on the material interests of key social and economic actors, we introduce a capacities-based explanation. Drawing on the work of Robert Dahl, we argue that the primary contribution of (capitalist) development is to generate resources and disperse them across society, reducing citizens’ dependence on the state. Whereas a concentration of resources in the hands of state officials leaves citizens and businesses dependent on the government, which weakens the bases of opposition, the countervailing societal power--autonomous citizenries, independent centers of wealth, dense associational landscapes, and collective mobilizational capacity--generated by capitalist development creates the structural bases for robust opposition. The countervailing societal power that exists in developed states dramatically increases the difficulty of establishing and sustaining hegemonic control, which increases the probability of both democratic transitions and democratic survival.
Steven Levitsky
Vita
Steven Levitsky ist im Sommersemester 2026 Distinguished Fellow am Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies der Universität zu Köln. Am 13. Juli hält er zusammen mit Lucan Way die Auerbach Distinguished Lecture 2026 in Form einer Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema ‚Quo vadis USA? Democracy and Authoritarianism‘.
TEACHING AND RESEARCH POSITIONS:
- David Rockefeller Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Government Harvard University, 2016-
- Andrew Dixon White Professor at Large Cornell University, 2018-2024
- Professor of Government Harvard University, 2008-
- John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences Department of Government, Harvard University, 2004-08
- Assistant Professor Department of Government, Harvard University, 2000-03
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS:
- Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) Harvard University, 2020-
- Co-Chair, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Cluster on Challenges to Democracy Harvard University, 2018-
- Chair, Committee on Climate Change, Government Department Harvard University, 2018-2019
Forschungsschwerpunkt
Demokratisierung und Autoritarismus, politische Parteien sowie schwache und informelle Institutionen, mit Schwerpunkt auf Lateinamerika.
Ausgewählte Publikationen
Forthcoming. Saving Democracy (with Daniel Ziblatt). New York: Crown Publishers.
2022. Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism (with Lucan A. Way). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
2021. The Inclusionary Turn in Latin America (co-edited with Diana Kapiszewski and Deborah Yashar). New York: Cambridge University Press. 2020. The Politics of Institutional Weakness: Lessons from Latin America (co-edited with Daniel Brinks and María Victoria Murillo). New York: Cambridge University Press.
2019. Understanding Institutional Weakness: Power and Design in Latin American Institutions. Cambridge Element. (with Daniel Brinks and María Victoria Murillo). New York: Cambridge University Press.
2018. How Democracies Die (with Daniel Ziblatt). New York: Crown Publishers *Translated into 25 languages
2016. Challenges of Party-Building in Latin America (co-edited with James Loxton, Brandon Van Dyck, and Jorge I. Dominguez). New York: Cambridge University Press
2011. The Resurgence of the Latin American Left (edited with Kenneth M. Roberts). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2010. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War (with Lucan A. Way). New York: Cambridge University Press.
2003. Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective. New York: Cambridge University Press. [Published in Spanish as Transformación del Justicialismo: Del Partido Sindical al Partido Clientelista. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI, 2005]
Lucan Way
Vita
Lucan Way ist im Sommersemester 2026 Distinguished Fellow am Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies der Universität zu Köln. Am 17. Juli hält er zusammen mit Steven Levitsky die Auerbach Distinguished Lecture 2026 in Form einer Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema ‚Quo vadis USA? Democracy and Authoritarianism‘. )
Lucan Way (Ph.D. der University of California, Berkeley) ist Distinguished Professor für Demokratie am Institut für Politikwissenschaft der University of Toronto und Mitglied der Royal Society of Canada. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte liegen auf globalen Mustern von Demokratie und Diktatur. Er ist Autor von drei Büchern, darunter zuletzt „Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism“ (Princeton University Press, 2022), das mit dem Juan-Linz-Preis für das beste Buch im Bereich der vergleichenden Studien zu Demokratie und Autokratie ausgezeichnet wurde. Darüber hinaus wurde Ways Arbeit zum kompetitiven Autoritarismus (zusammen mit Steven Levitsky verfasst) mehr als zehntausend Mal zitiert und trug dazu bei, neue und weitreichende Forschungen zu hybriden, demokratisch-autoritären Herrschaftsformen anzuregen.
Forschungsschwerpunkt
Demokratie und Diktatur, Demokratisierung, Revolution
Ausgewählte Publikationen
Revolution & Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Authoritarian Durability (with Steven Levitsky) Princeton University Press, in Press, (648 pages) 2022.
Pluralism by Default: Weak Autocrats and the Rise of Competitive Politics. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015) (257 pages).
Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010) (520 pages); with Steven Levitsky (Cited over 6,000 times according to Google Scholar)
Multiparty Elections in Autocracies.” (with Amelie Tolvin) Oxford handbook of Authoritarianism. Forthcoming. 2025. “Can Capitalism Save Democracy?” (with Steven Levitsky and Semuhi Sinanoglu) Journal of Democracy. 36, No. 3 (2025): 5-15.
“The Path to American Authoritarianism: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown.” (with Steven Levitsky) Foreign Affairs (print edition) April 2025
“The Resilience of Democracy’s Third Wave” (with Steven Levitsky) PS: Political Science and Politics. 57(2):198-201 (2024).
“Democracy’s Surprising Resilience” (with Steven Levitsky) Journal of Democracy, 34, no. 4. (Translated into Spanish “La sorprendente resiliencia de la democracia” Revista Elecciones (enero-junio), 23(27): 19-52.)
“The Origins of Military Supremacy in Dictatorships” (corresponding author; with Dan Slater, Adam Casey, Jean Lachapelle) Journal of Democracy 34, No. 3: 5-20 (2023).
“Censorship and the Impact of Repression on Dissent” (with Grigore Pop-Eleches), American Journal of Political Science. 65, No. 4 (2021).
“Social Revolution and Authoritarian Durability” (with Jean Lachapelle, Steven Levitsky, and Adam Casey) World Politics. 72, No. 4 (corresponding author)
Veranstaltungen
Kontakt
Steven Levitsky
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
Harvard University
1737 Cambridge Street, Rm N204
Cambridge, MA 02138
Lucan Way
University of Toronto
27 King's College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A1. Canada
E-Mail: lucan.way(at)utoronto(dot)ca
Erich Auerbach Institute for Advanced Studies
Aufenthalt: