Moritz Bondeli

Moritz Bondeli's picture
Ph.D Student

Why did democracy fail to take hold in Germany during the interwar years, while it survived and even thrived elsewhere in Europe? In my dissertation, I argue that the inability of democratizing forces to reform pre-democratic state institutions lethally stifled democracy. Rampant politically motivated violence enabled by a passive judiciary polarized elites and diminished representation, while reactionary rural bureaucrats abused their privileged positions to strengthen the opponents of inchoate democracy.

I examine my argument using novel quantitative and qualitative data on state bureaucracies, incidents of politically motivated violence, and electoral campaigns. My work contributes to seminal debates across the social sciences about democratic transitions, the causes of democratic erosion, and the consequences of political violence.

Department: 
Political Science
Fields of Interest: 
Democratization and democratic erosion, political violence, bureaucracy, Western Europe, Weimar Germany