Volume 58, Number 1, October 2025

Countries transitioning from civil war and authoritarian legacies often adopt transitional justice measures like reparations, prosecutions, and truth commissions. The success of these efforts depends, in part, on interactions with victims. We propose a framework linking victims’ engagement with reparations programs to political participation. We then use panel survey data from over 12,000 respondents in conflict-affected regions of Colombia to show that those who engage with transitional justice institutions are more likely to contact local leaders or politicians and join grassroots organizations. Mediation analysis reveals that while victimization drives much of this engagement, interactions with reparations programs independently increase contacting leaders and voting. Our findings have important implications for transitional justice, peacebuilding, and democratic participation.

Why do some victorious rebels invest in statebuilding and public goods, while others prioritize private enrichment? I theorize that post-victory governance is rooted in rebels’ pre-victory ideologies, distinguishing between rebels’ ideologies on two dimensions: how much they aim to transform society (programmatic or opportunistic) and the proportion of the population they wish to benefit (inclusive or exclusive). Programmatic transformation and delivering inclusive benefits require building infrastructural power and expanding state reach, while opportunistic use of power for exclusive, private gains does not necessitate non-coercive power. Fieldwork-based case studies of three victorious rebel organizations—the more programmatic-inclusive FSLN in Nicaragua, the more opportunistic-exclusive NPFL in Liberia, and the middle-ground NRM in Uganda—provide support for the theory, and the conclusion addresses implications for scholarship and policy.

Security is the canonical public good provided by the state to its citizens. Yet, many states are incapable or unwilling to provide security in a consistent fashion across their territory. The provision of security, order, and management of crime is a crucial “good” that parties can and do offer their constituents, resulting in widespread variation in security at the neighborhood level. What explains this variation in the provision of security and local policing by political parties? Drawing on 132 semi-structured interviews conducted during eight months of fieldwork in Lebanon, this study suggests that organizational capacity is one determinant of whether political parties step into the role of security providers. It shows that maintaining robust linkages with constituent communities and party members at the local level are necessary to coordinating security measures.

How do crises affect information gathering in authoritarian regimes? This study examines how crises impact appeal systems’ ability to collect information on everyday and crisis-related concerns. We argue that crisis immediacy and government repression shape the number and topic of appeals received. Utilizing a novel dataset of appeals submitted to Russia’s Presidential Administration, we analyze four crises: the 2018 pension reform, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent partial military mobilization. High-immediacy crises generate more crisis-related appeals, while repression suppresses everyday appeals on routine governance issues. This study contributes to scholarship on informational autocracies by highlighting the vulnerability of information-gathering institutions. Focusing on citizen behavior rather than regime incentives, we offer insights into how individuals utilize appeals systems under crisis conditions, enriching understanding of state-society dynamics and the limitations of consultative institutions in autocratic contexts.

Recently, the field of revolutionary theory has seen a flourishing of novel scholarly efforts that constitute a genuine regeneration of how we conceive of, investigate, and interpret revolutions. The first elements of this regeneration of revolutionary theory have now found their way to print, and the scene is set for a prospective revolution in our field. This article surveys the history of revolutionary theory since 1883, establishes the scope and contribution of the field’s present rejuvenation, and charts the place of these developments in the field’s broader path, before closing by exploring what may be in store for students of revolution in the future. In doing so, the article draws attention to three areas of current rejuvenation: latent patterns of revolution; long revolutionary outcomes; and revolutionary ideas. Moreover, it proposes three areas for fruitful new research: revolutionary programs, revolutions as political systems, and the dynamics occurring within “the fog of revolution.”