The IPSA 75th Anniversary Conference on Democratization and Autocratization, held in Lisbon in 2024, brought together scholars from around the world to reflect on one of the most pressing dynamics in global politics. Marking both IPSA’s 75 years of advancing political science and the 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution — the event that launched Huntington’s “third wave” of democratization — the conference explored the dual forces of democratic progress and autocratic resurgence. Over three days, participants engaged in panels and discussions on elections, populism, the rule of law, the economy, migration, gender, nationalism, and international relations, sharing comparative and case-based insights into the shifting balance between democracy and autocracy worldwide.

RC48 was also present with four board members and a closed panel P-009 [RC 48] Transformation of Administrative Procedures and Processes To Enhance Democratization.

Four board members of RC48

Co-Vice Chair Dr. Saraswathi Unni; Chair Dr. Ashok Basu; Board Member Dr. Ranjith Kumar; Co-Vice Chair Ms. Kinga Feenstra

 

RC48's panel was chaired by Dr. Ashok Basu, with Co-Vice Chairs Dr. Saraswathi Unni and Ms. Kinga Feenstra as discussants.
Papers:

  • Administrative Responses to Democratic Backsliding with Reference To India - Saraswathi Unni, Water Policy Centre, India
  • Assessing the Impact of Digital Literacy on the Accessibility of E-Governance Services in India: An Empirical Study - Ranjithkumar A, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Avadi, India
  • Bureaucratic Responses to Democratic Degeneration - Ashok Basu, Independent Scholar, India Democratic Erosion or Institutional Maturity?
  • Comparing Outcomes in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia - Malvina Krausz Hladka, Institute of Political Studies, Charles University, Czech Republic
  • Reshaping AI Governance: Decoloniality and the Quest for Justice as Fairness - Kinga Feenstra, Independent Researcher, Netherlands
  • The Administrative Guided Governance in an Authoritarian State: The Case of the Financial Sector in China - Chung-min Tsai, National Chengchi University, Taiwan 
Group photo panel

 

Individual photos:

Dr. Ranjith Kumar
Dr. Saraswathi Unni