With Peruvians heading to the polls this weekend in an extremely polarized election, I turned to Alberto Vergara to explain what is at stake, and how Peru has fallen into what he calls "democratic hollowing". My latest post at The Good Society. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/when-democ...

Ten American cities just joined The Pact of Free Cities – a global coalition of mayors dedicated to protecting democracy even if their national governments don't. More will join soon. What that means for democracy, in my new post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-pact-o...

The Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act is a crisis for democracy. My interview with Harvard Professor and election law expert @profnickstephan.bsky.social on what it means and how it will unleash more racial and partisan gerrymandering michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-suprem...

Peru's recent election debacle puts the country in a bind, setting the stage for another vote with few good outcomes michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/perus-demo...

Excited to have a new article out at the Journal of Conflict Resolution! The takeaway: Recognition/formalization of marginalized communities during civil conflict can reduce violence & strengthen state authority. 🎉 Article: tinyurl.com/ffcxa5cs

This Sunday's election in Hungary is a major test for global right-wing populism. What that means for democracy in the US & elsewhere 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/why-jd-van...

Conversation with Authors from @apsrjournal.bsky.social - @mikealbertus.bsky.social & @victorgayeco.bsky.social discuss their recent #OpenAccess article 'State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution' - https://cup.org/4sz773E

A "Conversation with Authors" post on my recent @apsrjournal.bsky.social paper "State-Building and Rebellion in the Run-Up to the French Revolution", with @victorgayeco.bsky.social. www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...

Democracy is declining globally and in the US. Will 2026 prove to be a turning point or breaking point? Data from V-Dem Institute and @freedomhouse.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/democracy-...

Excited to have a new article accepted at the Journal of Conflict Resolution! 🎉"Adhering Indigenous Communities to the State: Recognition Politics During Civil Conflict." I show that recognition can reduce violence & strengthen state authority. Article: papers.ssrn.com/abstract=644...

Even if the US & Israel succeed in drastically weakening Iran, will it bring stability there or elsewhere in the Middle East? My interview with @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social scholar Hesham Sallam suggests it won't. @wazirelkif.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/a-weaker-i...

What's next in Iran and the Middle East? Research on international & civil war and on regime change shows how the war could seed conflict and instability across the region and a power vacuum in #Iran itself. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-war-in...

The emergence and spread of nation-states is one of the most consequential developments in history. But most states still struggle to centralize control, driving violence. My latest post, based on my article with @victorgayeco.bsky.social @apsrjournal.bsky.social www.broadstreet.blog/cp/188144764

Excited to share that my newsletter – The Good Society – has surpassed 1,000 subscribers! My latest post on Trump's new Board of Peace, which will erase and transform #Gaza and could refashion international relations as he seeks to replace the UN 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

Research shows that repression sometimes backfires, driving spiraling cycles of protest and violence. Excessive federal force, widespread images and videos of ICE abuse, and indiscriminate and mistaken targeting are doing just that in #Minneapolis. 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/research-o...

Great article @financialtimes.com on American land grabs, which shares my conversation with @simonkuper.bsky.social on the power and unceasing allure of land www.ft.com/content/d59c...

#Minneapolis is more than just part of a supercharged deportation campaign: it's a legal and social testing ground for the Trump administration. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-explos...

After the US intervention in Venezuela, Trump's threats to other countries have accelerated. Who's next on the hit list? My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/whos-next-...

An explainer on the US intervention in Venezuela: what's happening, how the US could "run" it, and what could happen next. Top questions that journalists have asked me about the situation, and my answers

The opposition in #Venezuela has a choice: It could take Trump's snub and lie low, waiting for another inflection point—or return to protests and organizing in hopes of backing Trump or Rodríguez into a corner and forcing elections. My piece at @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Can state-building disrupt rather than stabilize society? In a new @apsrjournal.bsky.social article, @victorgayeco.bsky.social and I show that the expansion of state communication networks spurred rebellion for decades in France before the Revolution 👉 Article: doi.org/10.1017/S000... 🧵1/X

The US capture of Nicolás Maduro is a historic turn that repositions the US as openly interventionist in Latin America. But rebuilding Venezuela will be a far harder task. My piece at @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

As 2025 clocks out, my biggest professional thrill this year was my new book Land Power! 🥳🎉 It tells how land became power, how it shapes power, and how who holds that power determines the fundamental social problems that societies grapple with. 🧵 @basicbooksgroup.bsky.social

#3: Land Displacement & the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians with @mikealbertus.bsky.social

A brief year in review from The Good Society, the newsletter I started this year! t.co/ScPMbkvFy1

The Arctic is ground zero for the colliding threats of climate change and geopolitical competition between the US, Russia, China, and EU countries. My interview with @klausdodds.bsky.social on his new book Unfrozen michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/unfrozen-t...

My conversation with Princeton Professor Rory Truex on the American confrontation with Venezuela: where it's coming from and where it could be headed

Chile's blowout election of Kast gives momentum to right-wing political movements that focus on hard-line immigration and security policy and will further build a growing club of countries turning away from mainstream politics. My op-ed @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/15/c...

If the executive wins authority to intervene in independent agencies like the #FTC simply for partisan reasons, why won't the same logic apply to other government entities and to the civil service more broadly? My post on this power grab & why it matters michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-ftc-ca...

The recent but growing rural-urban divide in the US is a threat to democracy. My interview with @cornelluniversity.bsky.social Professor Suzanne Mettler and Johns Hopkins postdoc Trevor Brown on how it arose and what can be done @smettler.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/rural-vers...

With the American military buildup in #Venezuela, what is the endgame? Plotting out the most likely scenarios in my latest post. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/plotting-o...

Wealthy democracies with a history of fair elections never fail–or do they? My interview w/ @newyorkuniversity.bsky.social Professor Adam Przeworski on a career's worth of insight on what makes democracy thrive, and why he's so puzzled now about the US michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/wealthy-de...

The Maduro regime is not in a position to design, or even participate in, an institutional framework that could guide Venezuela back to democracy. With no golden parachute in sight, he's digging in. My piece @foreignpolicy.com on off-ramps from dictatorship foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/19/m...

With the government shutdown over, what has shifted politically? Not much. Although it probably emboldened Republicans in playing hardball with Democrats. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-govern...

The far right is poised to come out on top in #Chile's watershed election this weekend. Here's why, and what it means for the region. My piece in @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/12/c...

As the US builds military forces on Venezuela's coast to pressure Maduro, it should heed this lesson: toppling a dictatorship is easier than building a functional democracy to take its place. My piece in today's @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Immigration and crime are roiling the upcoming presidential election in #Chile much as they did in the US. It's poised to join the rightward shift in Latin America. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/immigratio...

My interview with @utaustin.bsky.social professor Raul Madrid on how democracy arose in South America, and what that tells us about democracy today. @raullorcamadrid.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-birth-...

My interview with @umich.edu professor Dan Slater on the current landscape of democracy and authoritarianism in the US & abroad. "Short-term extremely pessimistic and long-term at least somewhat optimistic"; watch out for weak authoritarians; fire up the non-cooperation & more @dnsltr.bsky.social

Happy to have shared my thoughts in this piece in @chicagotribune.com on Trump's escalating attacks on democracy, and his targeting of Chicago www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/19/t...

My interview with Democratic Erosion Consortium Directors @robertblair.bsky.social, Laura Paler, Jessica Gottlieb, and Julie Anne Weaver on their *new global dataset* on democracy! And on how to measure and understand democracy today, in the US & abroad michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...

A federal judge is currently hearing whether #Trump can turn #Chicago into the latest military "training ground". On the back of last week's ICE raid in South Shore, it's a combustible (and unnecessary) situation. And it hits close to home michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/chicago-is...

The Trump administration is using the government shutdown as an opportunity to double down on its attacks on political enemies. That raises risks for American democracy. More here on where this could go 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/dangers-of...

My interview with @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Dean Will Howell and @stanforduniversity.bsky.social Prof. Terry Moe, leading experts on the American presidency, on their important new book The Rise of the Strongman Presidency @princetonupress.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

The temperature is rising in American politics. Charlie Kirk's assassination is part of a growing wave of political violence that threatens the stability of our democracy and is very unusual among advanced democracies. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-rising...

My interview with social change experts and philosophy professors @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social, Dan Kelly, and Alex Madva on their fantastic new book Somebody Should Do Something. A must read if you’re thinking about big social problems, how they change, and what you can do @mitpress.bsky.social

The renaming of the Department of Defense as the Department of War signals a deeper geopolitical shift that departs from the postwar global order www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

#Trump's airstrike on a boat from #Venezuela signals an increasingly reliance on "tough on crime" political branding and advances in the international arena the same sense of unilateral authority that he has been pursuing domestically 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-drug-w...

Just published! 🎉 My paper "Indigenous Community Recognition and Identity: Evidence from Peru" @cpsjournal.bsky.social. It shows how & why indigenous recognition impacts self-identification for those who experience it – and for later generations that don't. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

#Trump's politicized firing of Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook threatens its independence and could destabilize the American economy. It also marks a major departure among advanced democracies of central bank independence, which has tamed inflation and unemployment 👇