DAL Research
In a world where democracy is at risk, the Democracy Action Lab focuses on practitioner-driven, solution-oriented research.
While academic tools such as data analysis, case studies, and theoretical frameworks remain essential, the urgency of the moment demands a shift toward practitioner-driven, solution-oriented research. DAL meets this challenge, producing cutting-edge research and valuable insights for those on the frontlines of democracy’s defense. In doing so, DAL deploys innovative empirical strategies to address democratic backsliding, with research that is both methodologically rigorous and action-oriented.
DAL not only helps document democratic erosion but also co-develops a repository of strategies, interventions, and assessments of these efforts for frontline actors seeking to rejuvenate fragile democracies or resuscitate those that have already fallen to autocrats. This involves collaborating closely with leaders of dissident movements, policymakers, and democracy practitioners around the world to co-create research agendas informed by their on-the-ground challenges and lived experiences. By anchoring research in empirical analysis and remaining attentive to practitioners’ dilemmas in practice, DAL ensures that research moves quickly from theory to practice.
Publications
Fabricated justice: How due process reform enables evidence manipulation
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What the CJNG Response to El Mencho's Death Reveals About Cartel Organisational Capacity
Los cuerpos en San Francisco (Bodies in San Francisco)
(in Spanish)
El Salvador’s Police State Will Soon Face a Reckoning
Delivering for Democracy: Why Results Matter
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1) Pathways: The Sequence of Democratic Erosion
The Democracy Action Lab’s first research stream examines the sequences of democratic erosion and how they shape opportunities for reversal. The central question is whether the order in which autocrats proceed — such as moving from media capture to court packing to electoral manipulation — affects the modes and methods of response to prevent further democratic breakdown. DAL aims to develop a typology of pathways that encompasses not only the actors and institutions involved, but also the sequence of democratic eroding events, along with the justifications autocrats provide for erosion — whether instrumental or ideological. The project also seeks to map counterfactuals, identifying “roads not taken” and pivotal junctures where outcomes could have been different. Our methods combine comparative process tracing, sequence analysis, structured case comparisons, expert elicitations, and causal mappings of critical junctures.
2) Practitioners: Learning About and From Practitioners
The second stream focuses on practitioners seeking to shore up or save democracies from erosion, investigating the dilemmas they face and the conditions under which they emerge, endure, and succeed. Core questions include: What kinds of dilemmas repeatedly challenge actors at different stages of erosion? Which predictors — such as interpersonal networks, resources, instruments and tactics used to erode democratic practices and institutions, international linkages, or leadership structures — explain their relative effectiveness? And how can scholar–practitioner engagement be structured to improve outcomes? The Democracy Action Lab catalogs responses to recurring dilemmas (for example, boycott versus contesting elections, centralization versus coalition-building across opposition groups and parties, or street tactics versus formal institutional pressure) to identify predictors of practitioner success and to systematize models of engagement that practitioners themselves find useful.
3) Diaspora: Transnational Leverage and Risks
A third strand of research investigates the role of diaspora communities in shaping democratic struggles in their countries of origin. The core questions revolve around how diasporas influence resource flows, narratives, lobbying efforts, sanctions diplomacy, and even regime resilience, and under what conditions such engagement proves helpful, harmful, or inconsequential to either shoring up faltering democracies or promoting more open politics within autocracies. Here, the Lab’s objectives are threefold: to map diaspora networks and communication channels — including media, remittances, and advocacy efforts; to identify the mechanisms linking diaspora action to domestic mobilization, elite fragmentation, or backlash; and to provide clear guidance on risk management, especially in the face of labeling campaigns, “foreign agent” laws, or propaganda countermeasures.
4) Citizens: Democratic Preferences and Trade-Offs
Another key area of study for the Lab explores citizens’ preferences for democracy and the trade-offs that sometimes draw them toward illiberal alternatives to liberal democracy. The Democracy Action Lab seeks to better understand: What sustains attachment to democratic norms when institutional performance disappoints? Which trade-offs — around security, economic growth, or identity — tempt citizens to support candidates who erode or are indifferent to democratic institutions and processes? To answer these questions, the Lab will replicate and extend Beatriz Magaloni’s El Salvador experiments across multiple contexts. Research will focus on building early-warning indicators for democratic norm erosion and tolerance for rule-bending, while also identifying messaging frames that can strengthen democratic commitment without relying on partisan cues. Methods include cross-national survey experiments, conjoint and endorsement designs, behavioral measures of norm adherence, and panel surveys where feasible.
Expert Consultation
The Democracy Action Lab engages in structured consultations with country specialists and leading scholars and analysts of democratic backsliding worldwide. These conversations focus on identifying the most significant gaps in the existing analyses of democratic erosion and identifying critical areas of research that have yet to be fully addressed. By drawing on the accumulated knowledge of experts, DAL builds typologies, generates hypotheses, and maintains a research agenda that is directly responsive to the evolving challenges facing democracies around the world.
Democracy Practitioners Survey
The Democracy Action Lab has developed a survey of practitioners who support democracy in the abstract and in practice in their countries in order to better understand the capabilities, constraints, and underexplored challenges they face in various country environments where democracy has disappeared or is at risk. Our practitioners survey captures lessons from the ground on how those on the front lines respond to strategic dilemmas, what resources and networks shape their choices, and which strategies prove most effective. The goal is to create a two-way exchange between practitioners and scholars that enriches both research and practice.
Experiments
In contrast to past decades of autocratic takeover, autocrats in the 21st century more frequently come to power via the ballot box. To understand why voters themselves sometimes elect candidates with autocratic tendencies, the Lab is carrying out experimental studies to shed light on citizens’ motivations, the relative strength of their attachments to democratic norms, and the trade-offs they are willing to make as they make decisions at the ballot box. By combining survey experiments and fieldwork across regions, DAL not only deepens our theoretical understanding of citizen behavior but also generates practical insights for designing interventions that strengthen democratic resilience to better address citizen concerns.
Time-Critical Empirical Analysis
Another dimension of the Lab’s work is the production of rapid empirical analyses that can be tailored to the needs of practitioners and stakeholders in real time. These time-sensitive studies are designed to provide actionable evidence in moments of democratic crisis, when decisions must be informed by the best available knowledge. By emphasizing speed, rigor, and relevance, DAL bridges the gap between academic research and urgent practical demands.