Emergency regime models are implemented in exceptional situations where public safety is severely compromised. Many democratic nations have used such measures to regain control over regions affected by rebellions, terrorism, or natural disasters. In March 2022, a surge in violent deaths linked to gang activity prompted the government of El Salvador to declare a temporary emergency regime. Under the regime, more than 90,000 individuals, or about 3
“Africa + 1” forums, structured as ministerial meetings or summits between African nations and an external partner, have become increasingly prominent in the international cooperation arena. Beyond growing adoption of the “Africa + 1” model, these forums increasingly resemble each other in substantive orientation and institutional structure. We examine convergence between two of the first and most influential forums hosted by countries with no colonial ties to Africa, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) with Japan and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). In contrast to literature that identifies international organizations or powerful states as development policy entrepreneurs that drive convergence, we hypothesize that African diplomats were the central actors driving expanded adoption and convergence among “Africa + 1” forums. We employ qualitative Bayesian analysis to systematically test the African agency hypothesis against a bilateral learning hypothesis, which holds that Japan and China each sought to emulate innovations that provided the other with material or international reputational gains. Our analysis draws on original new evidence from interviews with Chinese, Japanese, and African officials and experts who participated in TICAD and FOCAC, as well as internal documents about the decision-making processes surrounding the initiation of FOCAC.
Why do democracies differ in their capacity to activate accountability mechanisms in response to challenges to democratic institutions? This article argues that part of the answer lies in the internal organization of political parties. Existing research emphasizes horizontal, vertical, and diagonal accountability mechanisms as central to democratic resilience, but insufficiently theorizes the conditions under which these mechanisms are activated. We argue that party organization constitutes an important conditioning factor in accountability activation: by shaping elite incentives and capacities, it affects whether accountability mechanisms are mobilized early and institutionally or only late and crisis-driven. Using a deductive causal process-tracing design, the article compares Mongolia, South Korea, and Taiwan. The analysis shows that collegial party organization facilitates early horizontal accountability and preventive resilience in Taiwan; personalized party organization contributes to delayed accountability and reactive resilience in South Korea; and centralized-hierarchical party organization under recurrent dominant-party conditions contributes to episodic accountability and fragile resilience in Mongolia. The findings refine democratic resilience theory by identifying party organization as an important organizational condition shaping the sequencing of accountability.
This study examines the spatial interdependence in the relationship between demographic dividend, infrastructure readiness and sustainable development in African countries over the period 2000–2022. Using spatial econometric models, the findings reveals that demographic dividend in neighbouring countries generates negative spatial spillovers on sustainable development, suggesting potential competitive pressures and resource constraints across national boundaries. Senegal, South Africa, and Algeria are identified as particularly affected by these adverse spillovers. However, infrastructure readiness plays a significant moderating role, as its interaction with demographic dividend produces positive and statistically significant effect on sustainable development, including beneficial spillovers across neighbouring countries. The results further reveal substantial spatial interdependence in sustainable development outcomes across African economies, highlighting the importance of regional interconnectedness. Estimates of spatial marginal effects confirm that demographic and infrastructural conditions have implications beyond national borders, reinforcing the importance of accounting for cross-country dependencies in sustainable development strategies. The findings underscore the need for coordinated regional policies that strengthen infrastructure readiness while investing in human capital development, particularly education, healthcare, and skills acquisition. Such interventions are essential for harnessing Africa’s demographic potential and translating it into sustained and inclusive development outcomes.
How do enforcement practices shape contentious mobilization? While recent scholarship has shown that variation in rule enforcement matters for understanding important political outcomes, we know much less about how it affects the dynamics of contention. This article examines the relationship between enforcement and mobilization through a comparative analysis of informal settlement politics in Istanbul and Buenos Aires, drawing on fifteen months of fieldwork. I show that enforcement practices shape mobilization through two mechanisms: by influencing the formation of collective grievances and by structuring expectations about institutional incorporation. The article identifies three recurring pathways: strong enforcement of adverse rules can trigger reactive mobilization; legal exceptions can contain contention while orienting claims toward inclusion in existing institutional arrangements; and weak enforcement of favorable laws can generate proactive mobilization that pushes for strong implementation. The comparison also highlights the importance of historically layered enforcement trajectories. In Istanbul, mobilization against urban renewal unfolded in the shadow of a long history of incorporation through legal exceptions. In Buenos Aires, proactive mobilization in the 2000s emerged from the weak implementation of a progressive legal framework produced by earlier struggles against adverse enforcement. Together, the cases show that enforcement is a crucial but underexplored dimension of contentious politics.
