Fiona Shen-Bayh

Fiona Shen-Bayh is assistant professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.

October 2025, Volume 36, Issue 4

How Oppositions Turn Authoritarian

Conventional wisdom says that, once in power, opposition parties will return backsliding countries to the democratic path. In reality, not only is this not true, but it is not uncommon for the opposition to adopt the autocratic habits of the regime they replaced.