{"id":874,"date":"2026-01-08T15:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/?page_id=874"},"modified":"2026-08-04T15:22:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:22:51","slug":"working-groups","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/working-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/span>
\n
\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

APSA Working Groups<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Working Groups at the APSA Annual Meeting consist of a small groups of meeting attendees who share common research or professional interests and agree to attend certain panels and plenary sessions centered on a related theme or similar topic. Working Groups convene for discussion and to create a small-group, collaborative conference experience within the broader meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Working Groups must submit an application. <\/strong>Notifications of acceptance will go out in mid-May. Submissions are now closed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Globalizing Democracy Protection: Strategies for Researching and Reversing Transnational Trends in Autocratization Working Group<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research on democratic backsliding offers a robust understanding of how aspiring autocrats manipulate democratic institutions and prime the public for illiberal policies. Traditional techniques of election fraud, public sector corruption, or military interventions have given way to new strategies of executive aggrandizement, propaganda, and lawfare. Authoritarian narratives have emerged as powerful tools for legitimation, at home and abroad. The destruction of American foreign aid \u2013 through undemocratic means \u2013 eliminated support for an estimated 1,300 civil society organizations at a fragile moment in democratic history, undermining shared (if aspirational) global norms for democracy and human rights. This working group aims to (1) explore the weaponization of economic interdependence by authoritarian regimes, whose share of the global economy is growing (2) expand our understanding of the international drivers of autocratization, beyond development aid for soft power and disinformation campaigns for sharp power into the new horizons of transnational repression and “foreign malign influence” (3) identify how the transformation of traditional international organizations and the rise of new regional blocs are lowering the transaction costs of autocratic coordination, and (4) reflect upon the relationship between regimes and neoliberalism, including backlash from the 2008 global economic crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The working group is being co-organized by A. Carl LeVan <\/strong>(American University), Rachel Beatty Riedl <\/strong>(Cornell University), Nic Cheeseman <\/strong>(University of Birmingham), Marianne Kneuer <\/strong>(Dresden University of Technology), Marie-Eve Desrosiers <\/strong>(University of Ottawa), Annika<\/strong> Silva-Leander <\/strong>(International IDEA), and Ibi Kontein <\/strong>(American University). We seek scholars at any level of their career. We especially welcome those who may not be familiar with the democratic erosion literature, such as area studies experts, political psychologists, or scholars of international political economy. We plan to think creatively about scholarly public engagement. The working group will meet at 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 5 in the Brandeis Room at the Marriott Copley Place<\/strong>. To register your interest and receive information about the selected panels and opportunities to meet up, please complete this brief form: https:\/\/forms.gle\/4NvQs9U9WTfauay29<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schedule:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n