Author: Justin Gest | Journal of Democracy

Justin Gest is professor of policy and government and director of the public policy program at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. His most recent book is Democratic Drain: Global Migration and the Struggle for Democracy (2026).

July 2026, Volume 37, Issue 3

The Democratic Drain

Justin Gest

Global migration is quietly altering democratic politics in the places people leave behind. It is not just a shift in labor; it is a shift in democratic values. It may be gradual, but it can become a hidden demographic underpinning of authoritarianism.