Summary Brief by
MW Fellow Tobias Lenz (RSCAS)

On Wednesday, February 17, Prof. Sarah Birch delivered the fifth Max Weber lecture, titled ‘The Electoral Tango: The Evolution of Electoral Integrity in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes.’ Prof. Birch has worked on the issue of ethics and (electoral) misconduct for many years. In this long-standing research interest, her lecture addressed the evolution of electoral integrity – defined as conformity to democratic standards of electoral conduct in terms of inclusiveness, transparency and impartiality – in comparative authoritarian regimes over time.