Antony Dabila holds a PhD in historical sociology of the political and is a specialist in international relations, strategic studies, and the contemporary transformations of democratic institutions in the context of geopolitical shifts. His academic background has led him to focus on the upheavals of the international system, marked by the
return of armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarian regimes, and the growing fragility of Western democracies. His current research examines how these developments compel democratic states to rearm, both materially and institutionally, and explores the unprecedented tensions that arise between security imperatives and democratic
requirements.
Adopting a comparative approach, he analyzes the reconfiguration of the security- defense continuum as well as the transformations of state institutions and decision- making mechanisms, in response to the return of conventional warfare and the emergence of hybrid and digital threats. He investigates the risks of imbalance between institutional effectiveness and the protection of civil liberties, as well as the conditions under which institutions can adapt without undermining their democratic legitimacy.
Within CEVIPOF, he contributes to the work of the research group “Institutional Responses and Dynamics in the Age of Digital, Environmental, and Life Politics Transformations.” Since September 2024, he has also co-led the Jean Baechler
Fund for Comparative Historical Sociology, where, in collaboration with Alexandre Escudier and Nicolas Leron, he organizes the Comparative Historical Sociology seminar and leads a research project on federalisms, with an inaugural conference dedicated to the democratic challenges facing the Federal Republic of Brazil.