Research on the Political Causes and Consequences of Repression ---------------------------------------------------------------
After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition (Princeton University Press, 2020) Democratic transition stalls when compromise fails. Political polarization among elite actors has profound consequences for cooperation, yet existing theories fail to explain why party systems emerge more or less polarized from authoritarianism. After Repression presents a theory of polarization under authoritarianism, highlighting the repression that defines these contexts. Repression first influences how opposition actors come to identify themselves, and these identities then shape the landscape of affective bonds and articulated preferences among groups. The nature of repression determines its effect; widespread repression creates bridging political identities and decreases polarization, while targeted repression increases in-group identification for repressed groups and increases polarization. I document repression and polarization among the opposition in Egypt and Tunisia prior to the Arab Spring, drawing on extensive original interview and historical data. Tunisia is an example of widespread repression and decreasing polarization among the opposition under president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Egypt demonstrates targeted repression, overwhelmingly carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood, and increasing polarization among the opposition under president Hosni Mubarak. The book also includes lab experimental evidence testing the psychological mechanism through which repression shapes identities and polarization, and discusses how levels of polarization at the outset of transition helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path towards democratic consolidation, while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid retrenchment of authoritarianism. After Repression makes the case for the centrality of polarization and the legacies of repression in understanding the divergent outcomes of democratic transitions.
Media: Audio recording of presentation at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center -- Interview with Yale's MacMillan Report -- Summary of the project in Le Diplomate Tunisien (French language) -- Summary of the project in Yale News
"Internal Occupation: The Colonial Origins of Coercion in Egypt" with Allison Spencer Hartnett and Nicholas J. Lotito (working paper; email for current draft)
"Political Socialization in New Democracies: Legacies of Repression and Pre-Democratic Partisanship'' with Alexandra Blackman, Nicholas J. Lotito, and Daniel Tavana (data collection in progress)
Nugent, Elizabeth R. "The Psychology of Repression and Polarization." World Politics 72.2 (2020). PDF -- Replication materials
Brooke, Steven and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Exclusion and Violence after the Egyptian Coup." Middle East Law and Governance 12.1 (2020).
Research on Religion and Politics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deconstructing Religious Authority with Jillian Foster (project development in progress)
Graeme Blair, Mohamed Bukar, Rebecca Littman, Elizabeth R. Nugent, Rebecca Wolf, Benjamin Crisman, Anthony Etim and Chad Hazlett. "Religious Leaders Can Shift Norms and Change Minds" (working paper; email for current draft)
Grewal, Sharan, Amaney Jamal, Tarek Masoud, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Poverty and Divine Rewards: The Electoral Advantage of Islamist Political Parties." American Journal of Political Science 63.4 (2019): 859-874. PDF -- Replication materials
Fair, C. Christine, Rebecca Littman, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Conceptions of Shari`a and Support for Militancy and Democratic Values: Evidence from Pakistan." Political Science Research and Methods 6:3 (2018), 429-448. PDF -- Replication materials
Nugent, Elizabeth R., Tarek Masoud, and Amaney Jamal. "Arab Responses to Western Hegemony: Experimental Evidence from Egypt." Journal of Conflict Resolution 6.2 (2018): 254-288. PDF -- Replication materials
Hoffman, Michael T. and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Communal Religious Practice and Support for Armed Parties: Evidence from Lebanon." Journal of Conflict Resolution 61.4 (2017): 869-902. PDF -- Replication materials
Masoud, Tarek, Amaney Jamal, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Using the Qur'an to Empower Arab Women? Theory and Experimental Evidence From Egypt." Comparative Political Studies 49.12 (2016): 1555-1598. PDF -- Replication materials
Research on Political Behavior in the Middle East-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Disappointed and Demobilized: Political Attitudes & Behavior after Defeated Revolution" with Michael T. Hoffman (working paper; email for current draft)
"Personality and Politics: Determinants of Support for Authoritarianism in Egypt" (working paper; email for current draft)
"Voting after Democratic Backsliding" with Steven Brooke (working paper; email for current draft)
Berman, Chantal and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Regionalism in New Democracies: The Authoritarian Origins of Voter-Party Linkages." Forthcoming in Political Research Quarterly. PDF -- Replication materials
Nugent, Elizabeth R. and Chantal E. Berman. "Ctrl-Alt-Revolt? Online and Offline Networks during the 2011 Egyptian Uprising." Middle East Law and Governance 10.1 (2018): 59-90. PDF
After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition (Princeton University Press, 2020) Democratic transition stalls when compromise fails. Political polarization among elite actors has profound consequences for cooperation, yet existing theories fail to explain why party systems emerge more or less polarized from authoritarianism. After Repression presents a theory of polarization under authoritarianism, highlighting the repression that defines these contexts. Repression first influences how opposition actors come to identify themselves, and these identities then shape the landscape of affective bonds and articulated preferences among groups. The nature of repression determines its effect; widespread repression creates bridging political identities and decreases polarization, while targeted repression increases in-group identification for repressed groups and increases polarization. I document repression and polarization among the opposition in Egypt and Tunisia prior to the Arab Spring, drawing on extensive original interview and historical data. Tunisia is an example of widespread repression and decreasing polarization among the opposition under president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Egypt demonstrates targeted repression, overwhelmingly carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood, and increasing polarization among the opposition under president Hosni Mubarak. The book also includes lab experimental evidence testing the psychological mechanism through which repression shapes identities and polarization, and discusses how levels of polarization at the outset of transition helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path towards democratic consolidation, while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid retrenchment of authoritarianism. After Repression makes the case for the centrality of polarization and the legacies of repression in understanding the divergent outcomes of democratic transitions.
Media: Audio recording of presentation at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center -- Interview with Yale's MacMillan Report -- Summary of the project in Le Diplomate Tunisien (French language) -- Summary of the project in Yale News
"Internal Occupation: The Colonial Origins of Coercion in Egypt" with Allison Spencer Hartnett and Nicholas J. Lotito (working paper; email for current draft)
"Political Socialization in New Democracies: Legacies of Repression and Pre-Democratic Partisanship'' with Alexandra Blackman, Nicholas J. Lotito, and Daniel Tavana (data collection in progress)
Nugent, Elizabeth R. "The Psychology of Repression and Polarization." World Politics 72.2 (2020). PDF -- Replication materials
Brooke, Steven and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Exclusion and Violence after the Egyptian Coup." Middle East Law and Governance 12.1 (2020).
Research on Religion and Politics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deconstructing Religious Authority with Jillian Foster (project development in progress)
Graeme Blair, Mohamed Bukar, Rebecca Littman, Elizabeth R. Nugent, Rebecca Wolf, Benjamin Crisman, Anthony Etim and Chad Hazlett. "Religious Leaders Can Shift Norms and Change Minds" (working paper; email for current draft)
Grewal, Sharan, Amaney Jamal, Tarek Masoud, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Poverty and Divine Rewards: The Electoral Advantage of Islamist Political Parties." American Journal of Political Science 63.4 (2019): 859-874. PDF -- Replication materials
Fair, C. Christine, Rebecca Littman, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Conceptions of Shari`a and Support for Militancy and Democratic Values: Evidence from Pakistan." Political Science Research and Methods 6:3 (2018), 429-448. PDF -- Replication materials
Nugent, Elizabeth R., Tarek Masoud, and Amaney Jamal. "Arab Responses to Western Hegemony: Experimental Evidence from Egypt." Journal of Conflict Resolution 6.2 (2018): 254-288. PDF -- Replication materials
Hoffman, Michael T. and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Communal Religious Practice and Support for Armed Parties: Evidence from Lebanon." Journal of Conflict Resolution 61.4 (2017): 869-902. PDF -- Replication materials
Masoud, Tarek, Amaney Jamal, and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Using the Qur'an to Empower Arab Women? Theory and Experimental Evidence From Egypt." Comparative Political Studies 49.12 (2016): 1555-1598. PDF -- Replication materials
Research on Political Behavior in the Middle East-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Disappointed and Demobilized: Political Attitudes & Behavior after Defeated Revolution" with Michael T. Hoffman (working paper; email for current draft)
"Personality and Politics: Determinants of Support for Authoritarianism in Egypt" (working paper; email for current draft)
"Voting after Democratic Backsliding" with Steven Brooke (working paper; email for current draft)
Berman, Chantal and Elizabeth R. Nugent. "Regionalism in New Democracies: The Authoritarian Origins of Voter-Party Linkages." Forthcoming in Political Research Quarterly. PDF -- Replication materials
Nugent, Elizabeth R. and Chantal E. Berman. "Ctrl-Alt-Revolt? Online and Offline Networks during the 2011 Egyptian Uprising." Middle East Law and Governance 10.1 (2018): 59-90. PDF