I study how foreign and domestic actors shape public support for and the success of opposition movements in challenging and reversing incumbent-led democratic backsliding and authoritarianism, with a focus on the Middle East and Central Europe.

Books:

  • Backing the Opposition: International Pressure and Resistance to Democratic Backsliding

My book project, based on papers two and three of my dissertation, examine the nexus of domestic and international factors. In so doing, I argue that international pressure are consequential for the success of and support for oppositions. The first part of the book uses interview data and a novel dataset of pro-democratic rhetoric throughout the post-Cold War era (1997-2026, N=17,500 speeches) to demonstrate that global pro-democracy actors often make statements about democracy in other countries, particularly in countries that are either its strongest allies or its strongest adversaries geopolitically, and that this can reach target audiences in other countries using original data from Google Trends (2004-2025). Meanwhile, the second part (under review as my job market paper) uses conjoint survey experiments in Hungary (n=4,300) to assess the effects of foreign rhetorical endorsements on public opinion.

I am slated to hold a book workshop at Stanford CDDRL in May 2027.

  • “Who Counts? Ethnicity and Support for Democratic Backsliding,”

    Coauthored book with Hannah Ridge, currently under advanced contract as a Cambridge Elements in Experimental Political Science. Pre-registration. (Lead Author).

Academic Publications:

Book Reviews:

  • Yoel, Benjamin. 2025. “Review of: Post-Soviet Graffiti: Free Speech in Authoritarian States by Alexis Lerner.” International Affairs, 101(5): 138-139.

  • Yoel, Benjamin. 2024. “Review of: Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy by Laura Gamboa.” Democratization, 1-2.

Other Publications:

  • Yoel, Benjamin. 2018. “Oman’s Economic Diversification from Oil and ‘Omanization’ Policies.” Iqtisadi 8(11): 1-9.

  • Yoel, Benjamin. 2018. “The Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Deal: Why Now?” Ifriqiya 4(5): 1-6.

Working Papers:

Works in Progress:

  • “Opposition Coalitions and Public Attitudes: Experimental Evidence From Four Countries.” With Daniel Markovits and Abhyudaya Tyagi. Writing Stage. (Lead Author).

  • “Introducing the United Secretary of State Speech Dataset (1997-2026).” With Jay Revolinsky. Writing Stage. (Lead Author).

  • “Political Bias in LLMs: Observational and Experimental Insights.” With Marco Morucci. Data Collection Stage.

  • “Outsider political status and opposition to democratic backsliding.” With Ozlem Tuncel. Data Collection Stage.

  • “Domestic Demand and Public Perceptions of Foreign Pressure: Experimental Evidence from Hungary and Poland.” With Oren Samet. Data Collection Stage.

  • “Democratic Backsliding and Support for Retaliation Against Former Backsliders.” With Gabriela Greilinger.

  • “Opposition Victory and Attitudes Toward Democracy: Evidence from Hungary.” With Gabriela Greilinger.

Dissertation Projects