Juan J. Linz

Juan J. Linz, Ph.D., "Sterling Professor of Political and Social Science at the Yale University, is one of the leading scholars in modern social science. He has been one of the most prominent researchers in the study of democracy and its enemies in the 20th century. The constitutional democracy was, by the end of the 20th century, viewed as the best legitimate expression of the popular will, after having survived threats from both nazism and stalinism during that century. Amongst different systems of governance, democracy has proved to be the best system for regulating the relationship between the state and its citizens. Democracy´s normative basis in the human rights makes democracy a world-wide moral challenge to all autocratic regimes.

"Professor Linz is one of the scholars who has most systematically studied the conditions for stability and restoration of democracies. His field of study includes the historical, social, economic and political causes of the breakdown of democracies, and conditions for stability in democracies characterized by ethnical, social and political segmentation. He has further studied the relationship between constitutional rules and democratic stability, the reason for restoration of democracies after periods of dictatorship and the social basis and techniques of power used by military regimes.

"Juan J. Linz is a leading authority when it comes to the challenges of democracy; fascist and authoritative regimes. Through his work he has contributed to our notions and empirical knowledge of fascist regimes such as Franco’s Spain, Geisel’s Brazil and the european fascism in general." 


 * Winner of the 1996 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science
 * International Advisory Board, Journal of Democracy

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