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In addition to their analytical framework, Slater and Wong revise the classic modernization theory, which maintains that economic development and subsequent structural changes lead to a stable democracy. Tackling these two classic questions, Dan Slater and Joseph Wong break with the longstanding assumption that democratization starts when an authoritarian regime is too weak to withstand internal and external pressures. Thus, I From development to democracy i redirects our attention to the role that dictators play in democratization processes. [Extracted from the article]

What is field research? Is it just for qualitative scholars? Must it be done in a foreign country? How much time in the field is "enough"? A lack of disciplinary consensus on what constitutes "field research" or "fieldwork" has left graduate students in political science underinformed and thus underequipped to leverage site-intensive research to address issues of interest and urgency across the subfields. Uneven training in Ph.D. programs has also left early-career researchers underprepared for the logistics of fieldwork, from developing networks and effective sampling strategies to building respondents' trust, and related issues of funding, physical safety, mental health, research ethics, and crisis response. Based on the experience of five junior scholars, this paper offers answers to questions that graduate students puzzle over, often without the benefit of others' "lessons learned." This practical guide engages theory and praxis, in support of an epistemologically and methodologically pluralistic discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]