PhD candidate Enrico La Viña was named a dissertation fellow by the UC Institute for Global Cooperation and Conflict in 2024-2025. His dissertation project asks why, despite safeguards like civil society, professional bureaucracies, international organizations, and elections, democratic governments evade repercussions and even profit from state repression. He shows that in situations of democratic backsliding, democratic processes and institutions could, paradoxically, fuel rather than curb state repression. https://ucigcc.org/people/enrico-la-vina/