The Resistible Threat of Semiauthoritarianism

media release: "The Resistible Threat of Semiauthoritarianism" by Dr Marina Ottaway

Monday, October 13, 2025, Alumni Lounge, Pyle Center

Meet and greet with reception: 4:00-4:30pm

Soffa lecture, comments by Professor Flavia Piovesan and Q&A: 4:30-6:00pm

Moderated by retired Chief Justice of WI Supreme Court, Ann Walsh Bradley with welcome remarks by Vice Provost and Dean Francine Vavrus, International Division

To faciliate planning, please register by October 9, 2025 (we welcome walk-ins too) : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekyd6mNrHZwRgXmFnqhhEdS8epoht2iAvye9hcEczyjPzVdQ/viewform?usp=dialog

Marina Ottaway is a long-time analyst of political transformations in Africa, The Middle East and the Balkans. She was a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC until the center was eliminated by DOGE in May 2025.

Earlier she spent 14 years at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, during which she played a central role in launching the Middle East Program. Prior to that, she carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at Georgetown University, the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, the American University in Cairo, the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, the University of Zambia, and Addis Ababa University. 

Her extensive research experience is reflected in her publications, which include ten authored books and six edited ones. Among her publications are A Tale of Four Worlds: The Middle East after the Uprisings; Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semiauthoritarianism; and most recently an autobiography co-authored with her husband and sons Living Interesting Lives. Ottaway received her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Sponsored by: Human Rights Program, The International Division, Global Legal Studies Center, 4W Initiative, Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS), and Department of Political Science