The Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies on October 9th published a fascinating lecture by Professor Dan Slater outlining what he views as the global patterns behind democracies emerging and submerging. The video below is much recommended for watching.

In his Inaugural Lecture at the Ronald and Eileen Weiser Center, Professor of Emerging Democracies, Slater, wonders if there is any remaining need to study emerging democracies when we appear to be in an era where democracy is submerging. To him, the important research needed today is on fascism and the dysfunctions of even mature democracies. Somewhat paradoxically, he hopes doing so can help bring to the limelight important questions of how democracies appear.

Researchers have seen Slater’s work as an important step towards predicting which countries today are likely to emerge as either democracies or dictatorships in the near future. His focus is more on South Asia but the lessons he extracts from the region are applicable worldwide.

The Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan’s International Institute “promotes scholarship to better understand the conditions and policies that foster the transition from autocratic rule to democratic governance, past and present”. Professor Dan Slater’s lecture lasted for about an hour. Take a look: