Oxford Political Review (OPR) is celebrating the launch of its 16th print issue, under the theme ‘Nothing Is Ever Always’, with a panel discussion on democratic backsliding and resilience, featuring Prof Maya Tudor and Prof Scott Williamson.

Maya Tudor is Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and Fellow at St Hilda’s College. Her research examines the origins of effective and democratic states, with a regional focus on South Asia. She is the author of two books – The Promise of Power: The Origins of Democracy in India and Autocracy in Pakistan (2013) and Varieties of Nationalism (co-authored with Harris Mylonas, 2023) – as well as over twenty peer-reviewed articles. Professor Tudor regularly comments on elections and the state of democracy in media outlets such as the BBC and The Guardian.

Scott Williamson is Associate Professor in Comparative Political Economy at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations and a Tutorial Fellow at Magdalen College. His research explores popular politics and institutions within authoritarian regimes, democratic support, attitudes toward foreign aid and migration, and Middle Eastern politics. He is also Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded ERC Starting Grant, Democratic Values and Authoritarian Legitimacy (DEVAL), which studies why individuals support democracy and how autocratic regimes sometimes exploit democratic sentiments to reinforce authoritarian rule.