Bermond Scoggin's PhD, chaired by Dr. Svitlana Chernykh, is on the causes and consequences of backsliding in democracies – the erosion of horizontal and vertical accountability.  In addition to studying why democracies backslide, Bermond explores why, and in what conditions, do citizens permit the process to continue. 

Bermond completed honours in political science and international relations at the ANU, under the supervision of Dr. Svitlana Chernykh, in 2018. Prior to ANU, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2017. During his studies at UWA, Bermond was sponsored by the Perth USAsia Centre in 2016 to be a congressional intern for Congresswoman Janice Hahn in Washington D.C.