Luca Tomini
Biographic Data
| ID | 838683 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Luca Tomini |
| GIVEN NAMES | Luca |
| FAMILY NAME | Tomini |
| SIGNATURE | TOMINI L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Université Libre de Bruxelles |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3392-6577 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 192 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 22 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Crises and regime instability
To what extent are political regimes vulnerable to crises? Established research has explored in depth how crises can compromise regime stability, from Linz's foundational studies to contemporary investigations. Yet, such contributions remain scattered across unconnected concepts, methods, and applications, thus hindering cumulative knowledge. This article crafts a coherent examination of different crises and their impacts on regime instability, w…
A risky business
Autocratization typically results from measures aiming at seizing, strengthening, and consolidating political power. However, it is not without risks: it may produce adverse reactions from multiple actors and possibly lead to the fall of its perpetrators from power. What makes autocratizing incumbents more capable of surviving during such a perilous process? We argue that the adoption of ideological legitimation strategies makes incumbents more c…
Unity makes strength
Today, autocratization is the predominant trend of regime development. However, if we focus on autocratization as democratic erosion or decline, such a trend is not matched by an equivalent increase in the number of democratic breakdowns or autocracies. Why (and how) do some democracies survive autocratization, while others do not? Current research on autocratization has recently turned toward studies on democratic endurance. In particular, mostl…
First survive, then thrive
This article highlights the critical yet overlooked role of subnational entities, particularly cities, in autocratisation processes. While research often emphasizes national factors, cities can act as democratic enclaves resisting autocratisation or, alternatively, facilitate authoritarian trends. The article addresses three key questions: (1) What explains democratic enclaves in cities during autocratisation? (2) How do these enclaves resist nat…
The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization
Published online: 14 May 2024
Time to go
Although term limit violation is a widely examined form of autocratisation in sub-Saharan Africa, this research focuses on the relatively understudied but increasingly frequent cases in which term limits prove resilient. We distinguish two forms of term limit resilience, namely, compliance and enforcement, and we offer the first regional-level study of its determinants using qualitative comparative analysis. We find democracy – that is, the facto…
Alternative patterns to electoral autocracy
The establishment of electoral autocracy through gradual and “electoral” means by democratically elected leaders has recently emerged as one of the most researched phenomena in comparative politics. The literature and some of the most widely discussed cases suggest that this process typically takes place on the basis of majoritarian levels of popular support, often combined with an anti-establishment narrative. In this article, we show that this …
Shut Up! Governments' Popular Support and Journalist Harassment
During the past few decades, Latin American governments' recurrent attacks against journalists have contributed to the erosion of press freedom in the region and, relatedly, of the quality of democracy. Yet what pushes governments to harass journalists? We argue that governments are more likely to harass journalists when popular support for them drops. Due to the ability of journalists to influence public opinion, governments could perceive the h…
Standing up against autocratization across political regimes
Resistance against autocratization is a neglected area of inquiry. Although we have solid knowledge of the structural pre-conditions, modalities, and patterns of autocratization, as well as the motivations and strategies used by authoritarian actors, very little is known about the actors resisting autocratization and their strategies. This article provides an answer to the following questions: why does resistance against autocratization matter an…
Don’t think of a wave! A research note about the current autocratization debate
One of the most fascinating developments in the recent comparative politics scholarship is undoubtedly the turn from the studies on the process of democratization to those on the opposite phenomenon, that is, autocratization. After the recent, initial wave of empirical studies, only recently scholars began to tackle some underlying albeit essential issues, such as the problem of conceptualization and measurement of this concept. On the pages of D…
Autocratization in post-Cold War Political Regimes
Authoritarian resurgence
This introductory note to the Special Issue ‘Autocracy Strikes Back: Authoritarian Resurgence in the Early 21st Century’ situates this collection of articles in the burgeoning literature on authoritarian resurgence, and illustrates the conceptual terrain on which these articles make their contribution. In this regard, we discuss autocratization, authoritarian resilience, democratic transition failure, and autocracy-to-autocracy transition as proc…
Post-Cold War autocratization
The so-called third wave of democratization is over and scholars are increasingly alert to the apparently growing number of regime changes in the opposite direction. However, there is little agreement concerning how many distinct forms these processes can take, and even less systematic cross-regional analysis of the phenomenon, which diminishes our ability to seize its actual import. Accordingly, this article pursues a twofold goal. First, we pre…
Challenges of Democracy in the 21st Century
The effectiveness and capacity of survival of democratic regimes has been recently and widely questioned in the public and political debate. Both democratic institutions and political actors are increasingly confronted with rapid economic and societal transformations that, at least according to some observers and commentators, they not seem to be ready or equipped to manage effectively. This book evaluates and challenges recent scholarly literatu…
Reversing regimes and concepts
The debate on regime change has experienced a U-turn. Attention has shifted from the regime transitions occurred during the so-called third wave of democratization to the signals of an incipient reverse trend. However, the actual import and urgency of the problem remain unclear, due to a growing confusion concerning what a process opposite to democratization is, how many distinct forms it can take, and consequently what the empirical referents of…
Varieties of contemporary democratic breakdown and regression
The goal of this article is to understand which combinations of explanatory conditions account for the qualitative differences within forms of democratic breakdown (i.e., transitionfromdemocracy to a hybrid or authoritarian regime) and democratic regression (i.e., transitionwithindemocracy through a loss of democratic quality). The analysis focuses particularly on the specific features of those processes of change ending up with a transition from…
The State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
When Democracies Collapse
While the process of democratization is nowadays an established scholarship, the reverse process of de-democratization has generated less attention even when the regression or even breakdown of democracy occurred on a regular basis over past decades.This book investigates both the different combination of explanatory factors triggering the transition from democratic rule as well as the role of the actors’ involved in the process. It aims to integ…
Democratizing Central and Eastern Europe
At first, it was believed that accession to the EU would have a positive effect on the process of democratization in former communist countries. However, over time it became clear that difficulties with the democratic system endured in a number of these countries. This book reconsiders the results of the process of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe and evaluates the nature and effectiveness of the Europeanization process. It comparati…
Democratizing Central and Eastern Europe
A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
SCOPUS: ar.j
Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU
Over the past two decades, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have completed a long transition from authoritarian rule, and joining the EU has been considered to be an indication of the end of the consolidation process. However, this path was anything but linear and in many cases it was marked by concentration and abuse of executive power, a systematic political patronage and a plebiscitary interpretation of democracy. In order to shed l…
Political system, civil society and institutions in Italy
Building Social Dialogue Institutions in Bulgaria
The aim of this article is to examine the evolution of institutions of socialdialogue and actors’ perceptions in Bulgaria within the context of the processof Europeanization. The research question addressed by the paper is how andunder what external and internal conditions the institutions of social dialoguein Bulgaria have been built and have evolved over time. The methodology isbased on previous academic research in this field, official nationa…
Standing up against autocratization across political regimes
Resistance against autocratization is a neglected area of inquiry. Although we have solid knowledge of the structural pre-conditions, modalities, and patterns of autocratization, as well as the motivations and strategies used by authoritarian actors, very little is known about the actors resisting autocratization and their strategies. This article provides an answer to the following questions: why does resistance against autocratization matter an…
Reversing regimes and concepts
The debate on regime change has experienced a U-turn. Attention has shifted from the regime transitions occurred during the so-called third wave of democratization to the signals of an incipient reverse trend. However, the actual import and urgency of the problem remain unclear, due to a growing confusion concerning what a process opposite to democratization is, how many distinct forms it can take, and consequently what the empirical referents of…
Varieties of contemporary democratic breakdown and regression
The goal of this article is to understand which combinations of explanatory conditions account for the qualitative differences within forms of democratic breakdown (i.e., transitionfromdemocracy to a hybrid or authoritarian regime) and democratic regression (i.e., transitionwithindemocracy through a loss of democratic quality). The analysis focuses particularly on the specific features of those processes of change ending up with a transition from…
Don’t think of a wave! A research note about the current autocratization debate
One of the most fascinating developments in the recent comparative politics scholarship is undoubtedly the turn from the studies on the process of democratization to those on the opposite phenomenon, that is, autocratization. After the recent, initial wave of empirical studies, only recently scholars began to tackle some underlying albeit essential issues, such as the problem of conceptualization and measurement of this concept. On the pages of D…
Post-Cold War autocratization
The so-called third wave of democratization is over and scholars are increasingly alert to the apparently growing number of regime changes in the opposite direction. However, there is little agreement concerning how many distinct forms these processes can take, and even less systematic cross-regional analysis of the phenomenon, which diminishes our ability to seize its actual import. Accordingly, this article pursues a twofold goal. First, we pre…
Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU
Over the past two decades, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have completed a long transition from authoritarian rule, and joining the EU has been considered to be an indication of the end of the consolidation process. However, this path was anything but linear and in many cases it was marked by concentration and abuse of executive power, a systematic political patronage and a plebiscitary interpretation of democracy. In order to shed l…
A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
SCOPUS: ar.j
First survive, then thrive
This article highlights the critical yet overlooked role of subnational entities, particularly cities, in autocratisation processes. While research often emphasizes national factors, cities can act as democratic enclaves resisting autocratisation or, alternatively, facilitate authoritarian trends. The article addresses three key questions: (1) What explains democratic enclaves in cities during autocratisation? (2) How do these enclaves resist nat…
Time to go
Although term limit violation is a widely examined form of autocratisation in sub-Saharan Africa, this research focuses on the relatively understudied but increasingly frequent cases in which term limits prove resilient. We distinguish two forms of term limit resilience, namely, compliance and enforcement, and we offer the first regional-level study of its determinants using qualitative comparative analysis. We find democracy – that is, the facto…
Alternative patterns to electoral autocracy
The establishment of electoral autocracy through gradual and “electoral” means by democratically elected leaders has recently emerged as one of the most researched phenomena in comparative politics. The literature and some of the most widely discussed cases suggest that this process typically takes place on the basis of majoritarian levels of popular support, often combined with an anti-establishment narrative. In this article, we show that this …
Political system, civil society and institutions in Italy
Political system, civil society and institutions in Italy
Building Social Dialogue Institutions in Bulgaria
The aim of this article is to examine the evolution of institutions of socialdialogue and actors’ perceptions in Bulgaria within the context of the processof Europeanization. The research question addressed by the paper is how andunder what external and internal conditions the institutions of social dialoguein Bulgaria have been built and have evolved over time. The methodology isbased on previous academic research in this field, official nationa…
A Comparative Perspective on the State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
SCOPUS: ar.j
Reassessing Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe and the Role of the EU
Over the past two decades, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have completed a long transition from authoritarian rule, and joining the EU has been considered to be an indication of the end of the consolidation process. However, this path was anything but linear and in many cases it was marked by concentration and abuse of executive power, a systematic political patronage and a plebiscitary interpretation of democracy. In order to shed l…
Democratizing Central and Eastern Europe
At first, it was believed that accession to the EU would have a positive effect on the process of democratization in former communist countries. However, over time it became clear that difficulties with the democratic system endured in a number of these countries. This book reconsiders the results of the process of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe and evaluates the nature and effectiveness of the Europeanization process. It comparati…
Democratizing Central and Eastern Europe
The State of Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe
When Democracies Collapse
While the process of democratization is nowadays an established scholarship, the reverse process of de-democratization has generated less attention even when the regression or even breakdown of democracy occurred on a regular basis over past decades.This book investigates both the different combination of explanatory factors triggering the transition from democratic rule as well as the role of the actors’ involved in the process. It aims to integ…
Challenges of Democracy in the 21st Century
The effectiveness and capacity of survival of democratic regimes has been recently and widely questioned in the public and political debate. Both democratic institutions and political actors are increasingly confronted with rapid economic and societal transformations that, at least according to some observers and commentators, they not seem to be ready or equipped to manage effectively. This book evaluates and challenges recent scholarly literatu…
Reversing regimes and concepts
The debate on regime change has experienced a U-turn. Attention has shifted from the regime transitions occurred during the so-called third wave of democratization to the signals of an incipient reverse trend. However, the actual import and urgency of the problem remain unclear, due to a growing confusion concerning what a process opposite to democratization is, how many distinct forms it can take, and consequently what the empirical referents of…
Varieties of contemporary democratic breakdown and regression
The goal of this article is to understand which combinations of explanatory conditions account for the qualitative differences within forms of democratic breakdown (i.e., transitionfromdemocracy to a hybrid or authoritarian regime) and democratic regression (i.e., transitionwithindemocracy through a loss of democratic quality). The analysis focuses particularly on the specific features of those processes of change ending up with a transition from…
Autocratization in post-Cold War Political Regimes
Authoritarian resurgence
This introductory note to the Special Issue ‘Autocracy Strikes Back: Authoritarian Resurgence in the Early 21st Century’ situates this collection of articles in the burgeoning literature on authoritarian resurgence, and illustrates the conceptual terrain on which these articles make their contribution. In this regard, we discuss autocratization, authoritarian resilience, democratic transition failure, and autocracy-to-autocracy transition as proc…
Post-Cold War autocratization
The so-called third wave of democratization is over and scholars are increasingly alert to the apparently growing number of regime changes in the opposite direction. However, there is little agreement concerning how many distinct forms these processes can take, and even less systematic cross-regional analysis of the phenomenon, which diminishes our ability to seize its actual import. Accordingly, this article pursues a twofold goal. First, we pre…
Don’t think of a wave! A research note about the current autocratization debate
One of the most fascinating developments in the recent comparative politics scholarship is undoubtedly the turn from the studies on the process of democratization to those on the opposite phenomenon, that is, autocratization. After the recent, initial wave of empirical studies, only recently scholars began to tackle some underlying albeit essential issues, such as the problem of conceptualization and measurement of this concept. On the pages of D…
Standing up against autocratization across political regimes
Resistance against autocratization is a neglected area of inquiry. Although we have solid knowledge of the structural pre-conditions, modalities, and patterns of autocratization, as well as the motivations and strategies used by authoritarian actors, very little is known about the actors resisting autocratization and their strategies. This article provides an answer to the following questions: why does resistance against autocratization matter an…
The Routledge Handbook of Autocratization
Published online: 14 May 2024
Time to go
Although term limit violation is a widely examined form of autocratisation in sub-Saharan Africa, this research focuses on the relatively understudied but increasingly frequent cases in which term limits prove resilient. We distinguish two forms of term limit resilience, namely, compliance and enforcement, and we offer the first regional-level study of its determinants using qualitative comparative analysis. We find democracy – that is, the facto…
Alternative patterns to electoral autocracy
The establishment of electoral autocracy through gradual and “electoral” means by democratically elected leaders has recently emerged as one of the most researched phenomena in comparative politics. The literature and some of the most widely discussed cases suggest that this process typically takes place on the basis of majoritarian levels of popular support, often combined with an anti-establishment narrative. In this article, we show that this …
Shut Up! Governments' Popular Support and Journalist Harassment
During the past few decades, Latin American governments' recurrent attacks against journalists have contributed to the erosion of press freedom in the region and, relatedly, of the quality of democracy. Yet what pushes governments to harass journalists? We argue that governments are more likely to harass journalists when popular support for them drops. Due to the ability of journalists to influence public opinion, governments could perceive the h…
First survive, then thrive
This article highlights the critical yet overlooked role of subnational entities, particularly cities, in autocratisation processes. While research often emphasizes national factors, cities can act as democratic enclaves resisting autocratisation or, alternatively, facilitate authoritarian trends. The article addresses three key questions: (1) What explains democratic enclaves in cities during autocratisation? (2) How do these enclaves resist nat…
Crises and regime instability
To what extent are political regimes vulnerable to crises? Established research has explored in depth how crises can compromise regime stability, from Linz's foundational studies to contemporary investigations. Yet, such contributions remain scattered across unconnected concepts, methods, and applications, thus hindering cumulative knowledge. This article crafts a coherent examination of different crises and their impacts on regime instability, w…
A risky business
Autocratization typically results from measures aiming at seizing, strengthening, and consolidating political power. However, it is not without risks: it may produce adverse reactions from multiple actors and possibly lead to the fall of its perpetrators from power. What makes autocratizing incumbents more capable of surviving during such a perilous process? We argue that the adoption of ideological legitimation strategies makes incumbents more c…
Unity makes strength
Today, autocratization is the predominant trend of regime development. However, if we focus on autocratization as democratic erosion or decline, such a trend is not matched by an equivalent increase in the number of democratic breakdowns or autocracies. Why (and how) do some democracies survive autocratization, while others do not? Current research on autocratization has recently turned toward studies on democratic endurance. In particular, mostl…
Political science (19 works) · Democracy (17 works) · Law (17 works) · Politics (17 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (14 works) · Political economy (13 works) · Economics (11 works) · Law (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (6 works)