DIRK BERG-SCHLOSSER is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, Philipps University, Germany. He was Chair of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) 2003-2006 and Vice-President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) 2006-2009. His previous publications include The Conditions of Democracy in Europe 1919-39: Systematic Case Studies and Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-39: Comparative Analyses.