Democracy is in decline, growing weaker from within. But why? Is it political dysfunction, economic mismanagement, threats from authoritarian powers? More important, can we reverse the damage from backsliding before it’s too late? The Journal of Democracy essays below investigate every angle of democratic backsliding, and discuss what it will take to strengthen institutions and restore citizens’ faith in democracy.
The Myth of Democratic Resilience
We must face an uncomfortable truth: Democracies often fail to reverse the damage after an authoritarian lapse, if they manage to recover at all. If we are to make our political systems more resilient, we must steel democracy against authoritarianism before it is too late.
Matías Bianchi, Nic Cheeseman, and Jennifer CyrMisunderstanding Democratic Backsliding
If democracies did a better job “delivering” for their citizens, so the thinking goes, people would not be so ready to embrace antidemocratic alternatives. Not so. This conventional wisdom about democratic backsliding is seldom true and often not accurate at all.
Thomas Carothers and Brendan HartnettDelivering for Democracy: Why Results Matter
Voters around the world are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver and increasingly turning toward more authoritarian alternatives. To restore citizens’ confidence, democracies must show they can make progress without sacrificing accountability.
Francis Fukuyama, Chris Dann, and Beatriz MagaloniThe Return of Dictatorship
Alongside democratic backsliding is another, more pernicious phenomenon: dictatorial drift, where “soft” authoritarian regimes are opting to become highly repressive dictatorships. The West must develop new strategies to defend democracy across the globe.
Grzegorz Ekiert and Noah DasanaikeOn Democratic Backsliding
Old-fashioned military coups and blatant election-day fraud are becoming mercifully rarer these days, but other, subtler forms of democratic regression are a growing problem that demands more attention.
Nancy BermeoThe Anatomy of Democratic Backsliding
Can we recognize the symptoms of backsliding before it’s too late? Though the signals are sometimes faint, a new study of sixteen cases around the world reveals key dynamics common to all.
Stephan Haggard and Robert KaufmanPopulism and the Decline of Social Democracy
In both Eastern and Western Europe, social-democratic parties have shifted to the center on economic policy, not only sapping the electoral strength of these parties, but also opening up political space for the populist right.
Sheri Berman and Maria SnegovayaThe Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy
Across the West, economic, demographic, and cultural shifts have spurred the rise of populists who embrace majoritarianism and popular sovereignty while showing little commitment to constitutionalism and individual liberty.
William A. GalstonEroding Norms and Democratic Deconsolidation
“Democratic deconsolidation” on the level of attitudes and beliefs is real, and behind it lies a disturbing rise in tolerance for antisocial behavior, especially among the young.
Paul Howe
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