Interviewed by graduate students Benjamín García and Isabel Güiza-Gómez, Political Scientist Michael Coppedge discusses the foundational question of why some countries escape autocratic rule and strengthen democracy while others remain trapped. He introduces his recently co-authored book “Why Democracies Develop and Decline”, which offers evidence on democratization, democratic consolidation, and democratic backsliding, drawing on data assembled from the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem)