Does it still make sense to study emerging democracies in a historical moment when democracies seem mostly to be submerging? In his inaugural address as WCED Director, Dan Slater discusses how research on authoritarianism and democratic dysfunctions might ironically shed light on enduring questions of democratic emergence—especially when it builds on concepts transcending disciplinary boundaries.

Dan Slater specializes in the politics and history of enduring dictatorships and emerging democracies, with a regional focus on Southeast Asia. He comes to Michigan after twelve years on the faculty at the University of Chicago, where he served as director of the Center for International Social Science Research (CISSR), associate professor in the Department of Political Science, and associate member in the Department of Sociology. His book manuscript examining how divergent historical patterns of contentious politics have shaped variation in state power and authoritarian durability in seven Southeast Asian countries, entitled "Ordering Power: Contentious Politics and Authoritarian Leviathans in Southeast Asia," was published in the Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics series in 2010.

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