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Graduate Conference on Democratization in the Global South

Friday, March 6, 2026 | 9:00 A.M. – 7:00 P.M.

Room: SIPA II Building - 102

Program Schedule

Welcome Remarks and Conference Introduction

(9:00 A.M. – 9:15 A.M.)

Professor Barry S. Levitt, Chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University.

Panel I: Democratization and Democratic Backsliding

Chair: Ernest Asamoa (Florida International University)
Discussant: Professor Alexander Barder (Florida International University)
(9:20 A.M. – 10:40 A.M.)

  • Misdiagnosing Democracy: Populism and the Teleology of Democratic Backsliding
    • Carlos Eduardo Paredes (University of Massachusetts Amherst)
  • Consolidation through repression: the cases of Nicaragua and El Salvador
    • Francisco Jimenez (Florida International University)
  • Varieties of Democratic Backsliding: A Comparative Case Study of India and Pakistan
    • Muhammad Asad Saleem (Florida International University)
  • Courts, Democratic Consolidation, and the Evolution of Judicial Trust in Ghana
    • Richard Kweitsu (University of Florida)
(15 Minute Break)

Panel II: Political Economy and Development

Chair: Joshua Gold (Florida International University)
Discussant: Dr. Melissa Boissiere (Florida International University)
(10:55 A.M. – 12:15 P.M.)

  • Infrastructural Repression in Practice: The Politics of Electricity Cuts in post-2013 Egypt
    • Chloe Bernadaux (Northwestern University)
  • Elite Cohesion and the Paradox of Growth in Semi-Authoritarian South Asia
    • Muhammad Towkir Hossain (George Mason University)
  • The Rise and Fall of the Dynastic Advantage in Post-revolutionary Mexico
    • Federico Lombisano (Vanderbilt University)
  • Public Investment and Civil War in Ethnically Divided Societies: Evidence from Turkey
    • Turan Keles (University of Central Florida)

Lunch Break

(12:15 P.M. – 1:15 P.M.)

Panel III: Corruption and Governance

Chair: Ryan Coleman (Florida International University)
Discussant: Dr. Matthew Gomez (Florida International University)
(1:15 P.M. – 2:35 P.M.)

  • Why Do Some Post-Conflict African States Relapse into Conflict? Governance, Corruption, and the Durability of Peace
    • Johnpaul Chigozie Damian Ojukwu (The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)
  • When Politics Bites: Legislative Oversight, Energy Rents and Democratization in East Africa
    • Tyson Odoo Juma (Cornell University)
  • Authoritarian By Democratic Mandate: An Investigation into the Rise of Popular Authoritarian Regimes in Venezuela and El Salvador
    • Kenneth Kyle Bennett (Florida Atlantic University)
  • From Boardrooms to Barracks: Why Privatizing Military Businesses Succeeded in Argentina but Failed in Indonesia
    • Prajakta Gupte (University of Florida)
(15 Minute Break)

Panel IV: Elite Politics

Chair: Sedinam Kumah (Florida International University)
Discussant: Professor Guilherme Casarões (Florida International University)
(2:50 P.M. – 4:10 P.M.)

  • Autogolpes and Regime Survival: How to Threaten the Power-sharing Balance while Maximizing Longevity
    • Corinne Lyons (The University of Alabama)
  • Governance Under Distorted Accountability: Evidence from Elite-Driven Local No-Confidence Votes in Benin
    • Lazare Kovo (Emory University)
  • Why Did Brazil Survive Bolsonaro? Coalitional Composition, Coalitional Capacity, and Democratic Resilience
    • Ana Alves (Florida Atlantic University)
  • Semiloyal Oppositions and Democracy-Eroding Impeachments in Latin America
    • Nicole Herscovici (Northwestern University)
(15 Minute Break)

Panel V: Political Institutions

Chair: Melissa Burgess (Florida International University)
Discussant: Professor John Clark (Florida International University)
(4:25 P.M. – 5:45 P.M.)

  • Party Dominance in Parliament and Individual Trust in Parliament Institution: Evidence from Benin
    • Gefry Alapini (University of Houston)
  • Manipulating Autonomy: The Dynamics of Federal Institutions and Political Control in Argentina (1914-2020)
    • Santiago Lacroix Eussler (The Ohio State University)
  • Institutional Resistance to Authoritarian Executives: Colombia and Mexico
    • Patrick C. McCormick (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)
  • Executive Overreach and Democratic Erosion: The Abuse of Decrees in Argentina Since 1983
    • Felipe Julián Mosquera Blanco (The Catholic University of America)
(15 Minute Break)

Keynote Address

(6:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.)

Professor Benjamin B. Smith, Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Florida
  • Tinpots and Technocrats: Market Reforms and the Politics of Personal Rule
  • Lecture (45 minutes)
  • Q&A (15 minutes)

End of Program

(7:00 P.M.)