Please join us Thursday November 7th, 2024 at 3:30p for our Democracy Speaker Series featuring Dr. Kurt Weyland, Mike Hogg Professor of Liberal Arts University of Texas, Austin. Dr. Weyland's talk title, and abstract are below.

Ortega Hall is located on main campus near the Duck Pond and the closest public parking is in the Cornell parking structure on Central Ave or metered parking along Central Ave. Please see the UNM Campus map for more detailed information. This series is free and open to the public. 

This event will be broadcast live via Zoom, details below - you will need both the meeting ID and passcode listed below to join:

Topic: US & Global Democracy Series: Dr. Kurt Weyland
Time: Nov 7, 2024 03:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://unm.zoom.us/j/97854520682
Meeting ID: 978 5452 0682
Passcode: 633733

Title: Why Do Populist Authoritarians Rarely Turn into Repressive Dictators? 

Abstract: Most authoritarian regimes installed by populist chief executives do not become full-scale, repressive dictatorships. As an explanation, scholars commonly highlight the charismatic appeal of populist leaders: Because they command voluntary mass support, they do not need harsh political coercion. While corroborating this argument, the talk highlights a crucial complementary factor: Populist chief executives have difficulty marshaling large-scale political repression. After all, their insistence on personalistic autonomy creates aversion among the military institution, which is unwilling to back the imposition of harsh autocracy by populist leaders, as an examination of contemporary Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Peru shows