International Forum for Democratic Studies Research Council Member

Steven Levitsky

Harvard University

Steven Levitsky is Harvard College Professor and Professor of Government at Harvard University. His research interests include political parties, authoritarianism and democratization, and weak and informal institutions, with a focus on Latin America. He is author of Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective (Cambirdge University Press, 2003), co-author with Lucan Way of Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War (Cambridge University Press, 2010), and co-editor of Argentine Democracy: The Politics of Institutional Weakness (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005); Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006); and The Resurgence of the Latin American Left in Latin America (Johns Hopkins University press, 2011). He is currently engaged in research on the durability of revolutionary regimes, variation in institutional strength in new democracies, and the challenges of party-building in contemporary Latin America.


Forum News

“Journal of Democracy Classics: ‘The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism'” (Jan. 15, 2015)

Forum Events

“Is Democracy in Decline? Celebrating 25 Years of the Journal of Democracy,” Hotel Monaco (Jan. 29, 2015)

“Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War,” International Forum for Democratic Studies (Sept. 24, 2010)

Forum Publications

“The Myth of the Democratic Recession,” coauthored with Lucan Way, Journal of Democracy (Jan. 2015)

“External Influence and Democratization: Structure vs. Choice,” coauthored with Lucan Way, Journal of Democracy (Oct. 2014)

“The Durability of Revolutionary Regimes,” coauthored with Lucan Way, Journal of Democracy (Jul. 2013)

“Lessons from Latin America: Building Institutions on Weak Foundations,” co-authored with Maria Victoria Murillo, Journal of Democracy (Apr. 2013)

“Peru’s 2011 Elections: A Surprising Left Turn,” Journal of Democracy (Oct. 2011)

“Why Democracy Needs a Level Playing Field,” co-authored with Lucan Way, Journal of Democracy (Jan. 2010)

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