This presentation first introduces the book Authoritarianism Consolidation in Times of Crisis:  Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro, edited by John Polga-Hecimovich and Raúl Sánchez Urribarrí.  Published in April 2025, the book adopts a comparative perspective, focusing on how authoritarian leaders can remain ensconced in power amidst profound and protracted crisis. It identifies and discusses the internal and external mechanisms through which Maduro consolidated Venezuela as an authoritarian regime. Of special interest is the concept of authoritarian consolidation as a process entangled with -but distinct from- democratic erosion/backsliding.  Finally, we briefly discuss Venezuela after January 3, 2026, when a U.S. special operations raid in Caracas and other sites resulted in Maduro’s capture and the subsequent designation of VP Delcy Rodríguez as interim president.  This part of the presentation will be based on a recent paper by Polga-Hecimovich and Sanchez-Urribarri that analyses the Venezuelan regime’s dynamics in 2025-2026.

Dr Raul Sanchez Urribarri is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at the Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University.  He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Laws (LLM) from Cambridge University and a Law degree from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Caracas, Venezuela). His research focuses on constitutionalism, judicial politics, and the rule of law in comparative perspective.  His work includes three recent books (co-edited): Judicial Activism in Comparative Perspective (Peter Lang); Informality and Courts (Edinburgh University Press), and Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis (Routledge).  He is past Chair of the Latin American Studies Association’s (LASA) Section on Venezuelan Studies and Political Institutions.   

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