Aleksandar Matovski holds a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and an M.A. in War Studies from King’s College London. His research focuses on the dynamics of popular opinion, voting behavior and protest in autocracies, as well as on civil wars and internal conflicts. At the Davis Center, he will be completing a book project titled “Popular Dictators: Crises and the Attitudinal Roots of Electoral Authoritarianism." The book examines the role of deep systemic crises and the mass attitude patterns they produce in the rise and resilience of electoral autocracies – the most widespread and persistent form of authoritarianism in the world today – with an emphasis on cases in the Former Soviet Union and East Europe. Dr. Matovski was previously National Security Advisor in the Government of Macedonia and Political and Military Advisor in the Macedonian Ministry of Defense.