In the context of the global decline of democracy, The Authoritarian Divide analyzes the tactics that populist leaders in Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan), Venezuela (Hugo Chávez), and Ecuador (Rafael Correa) have used to polarize their countries. Political polarization is traditionally viewed as the result of competing left/right ideologies. In The Authoritarian Divide, Orçun Selçuk argues that, regardless of ideology, polarization is driven by dominant populist leaders who deliberately divide constituents by cultivating a dichotomy of inclusion and exclusion. This practice, known as affective leader polarization, stymies compromise and undermines the democratic process.

Orçun Selçuk is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the International Studies Program at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Selçuk is also a graduate of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey, where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Selçuk researches the intersection of populism, polarization, and opposition during the global decline of democracy. In addition to his native country of Turkey, he has a deep interest in Latin American politics, particularly the trajectories of Venezuela and Ecuador under polarizing populist leaders. Dr. Selçuk has published The Authoritarian Divide: Populism, Propaganda, and Polarization from the University of Notre Dame Press, as part of the Kellogg Institute Democracy and Development Series. Previously, Selçuk published journal articles in Democratization, Populism, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. His public commentary has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Times, The Telegraph, Miami Herald, and CNBC.

This event is partially funded by the Stanford Global Studies’ Oceanic Imaginaries, a multi-year initiative that adopts the world’s oceans as an analytical framework for advancing cross-regional, interdisciplinary research and activities addressing timely global topics.