I have been interested in a broad range of topics, often seen through the lens of authoritarian rule in the MENA region and beyond. My research draws on both qualitative and quantitative material.

Check out my Google Scholar page.

Civil-Military Relations in the Middle East and North Africa

This research program has been inspired by the immediate aftermath of the Arab Spring and explores the behavior of military personnel in uncertain times, such as during popular mass uprisings and civil conflicts. Some publications include the following:

Albrecht, Holger, Aurel Croissant, and Fred Lawson, eds. 2016. Armies and Insurgencies in the Arab Spring. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Albrecht, Holger and Dorothy Ohl. 2016. “Exit, Resistance, Loyalty: Military Behavior during Unrest in Authoritarian Regimes,” Perspectives on Politics 14(1): 38-52.

Koehler, Kevin, Dorothy Ohl, and Holger Albrecht. 2016. “From Disaffection to Desertion: How Networks Facilitate Military Insubordination in Civil Conflict,” Comparative Politics 48(4): 439-457.

Albrecht, Holger and Kevin Koehler. 2018. “Going on the Run: What Drives Military Desertion in Civil War?” Security Studies 27(2): 179-203.

Albrecht, Holger. 2019. “Military Insubordination in Popular Mass Uprisings,” Political Science Quarterly 134(2): 303-328.

Albrecht, Holger. 2020. “Diversionary Peace: International Peacekeeping and Domestic Civil-Military Relations,” International Peacekeeping 27(4): 586-616.

Military Coups and Coup-Proofing

Apart from my broader interest in civil-military relations, I have been intrigued with what arguably remains the most dramatic form of military interventions in politics. Questions that have driven this research agenda include the following: what are the causes and consequences of military coups? What are the most effective strategies to keep military officers in the barracks? What are the different agents, factions, and interests among officers within the military? Here is a selection of publications coming out of this collaborative research agenda:

Albrecht, Holger. 2015. “Does Coup-Proofing Work? Political-Military Relations in Authoritarian Regimes amid the Arab Uprisings,” Mediterranean Politics 20(1): 36-54.

Albrecht, Holger. 2015. “The Myth of Coup-proofing: Risk and Instances of Military Coups d’état in the Middle East and North Africa, 1950-2013,” Armed Forces & Society 41(4): 659-687.

Albrecht, Holger and Ferdinand Eibl. 2018. “How to Keep Officers in the Barracks? Causes, Agents, and Types of Military Coups,” International Studies Quarterly 62(2): 315-328.

Albrecht, Holger, Kevin Koehler, and Austin Schutz. 2021. “Coup Agency and Prospects for Democracy,” International Studies Quarterly 65(4): 1052-1063.

Koehler, Kevin and Holger Albrecht. 2021. “Revolutions and the Military: Roll-Back Coups, Instability and Prospects for Democracy,” Armed Forces & Society, 47(1): 148-176.

Public Opinion

More recently, I became interested in survey research, studying people’s perceptions of the military, the social contract, and political developments more broadly. Here are some journal articles:

Albrecht, Holger, Michael Bufano, and Kevin Koehler. 2022. “Role Model or Role Expansion? Popular Perceptions of the Military in Tunisia,” Political Research Quarterly 75(2): 321-337.

Koehler, Kevin, Sharan Grewal, and Holger Albrecht. 2022. “Who Fakes Support for the Military? Experimental Evidence from Tunisia,” Democratization 29(6): 1055-1076.

Albrecht, Holger and Markus Loewe. 2022. “States or Social Networks? Popular Attitudes amid Health Crises in the Middle East and North Africa,” International Political Science Review, online first.

Albrecht, Holger, Dina Bishara, Michael Bufano, and Kevin Koehler. 2023. “Popular Support for Military Intervention and Anti-Establishment Alternatives in Tunisia: Appraising Outsider Eclecticism,” Mediterranean Politics 28(3): 492-516.

Loewe, Markus and Holger Albrecht. 2023. “The Social Contract in Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia: What Do the People Want?” Journal of International Development 35(5): 838-855.

Political Opposition under Authoritarianism

Mainly studying Egypt as my dissertation topic, I have been intrigued with the emergence of political opposition amid protracted authoritarian rule asking questions such as those: how can political opposition emerge under authoritarianism? Does opposition challenge incumbents or contribute to the endurance of authoritarianism? How do Islamist groups operate vis-a-vis nonreligious groups? Here are some publications that came out of this project:

Albrecht, Holger and Oliver Schlumberger. 2004. “‘Waiting for Godot’: Regime Change without Democratization in the Middle East,” International Political Science Review 25(4): 371-392.

Albrecht, Holger. 2005. “How Can Opposition Support Authoritarianism? Lessons from Egypt,” Democratization 12(3): 378-397.

Albrecht, Holger and Eva Wegner. 2006. “Autocrats and Islamists: Contenders and Containment in Egypt and Morocco,” Journal of North African Studies 11(2): 123-141.

Albrecht, Holger, ed. 2010. Contentious Politics in the Middle East: Political Opposition under Authoritarianism. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.

Albrecht, Holger. 2013. Raging Against the Machine: Political Opposition under Authoritarianism in Egypt. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

Albrecht, Holger and Kevin Koehler. 2020. “Revolutionary Mass Uprisings in Authoritarian Regimes,” International Area Studies Review 23(3): 135-159.