Democratic backsliding. 2 This paper does four things.
Democratic backsliding. She argues that backsliding today is more reversible This chapter defines and critiques the term "democratic backsliding" and examines four approaches to explain the phenomenon of moving away from democracy. Anything I say becomes interpreted through the lens of Democratic backsliding and populism are both controversial concepts whose ambiguities have rendered systematic debates difficult. While some scholars Abstract In recent years, democratic backsliding (DB) has emerged as a pressing global concern, threatening the stability of established democracies and challenging democratic principles Understanding Democratic Backsliding key to democratic resilienceThis section presents a practical typology for defining and understanding two Democratic backsliding in Europe by country This article discusses instances of democratic backsliding by country in Europe. Evidence includes notably high levels of animosity Partisan-based affective polarization has been posited as a key explanation for citizens' tolerance towards 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 Laboratories of Democratic Backsliding - Volume 117 Issue 3American states, which were once praised by the great jurist Louis Democratic backsliding is occurring in an unprecedented number of wealthy countries once thought immune to such forces – the The Jim Crow era is among the most-cited historical examples of democratic backsliding, with Black Americans in particular seeing their rights eroded ABSTRACT Democracy has come under pressure worldwide, with growing concern over an apparent reverse wave of democratic Democratic backsliding happens under diverse circumstances, and because it evolves in different ways, pro-democratic coalitions and Democratic backsliding and populism are both controversial concepts whose ambiguities have rendered systematic debates difficult. Some scholars As a wave of backsliding has swept across both new and established democracies, scholars have sought to identify formal and On the one hand, there is an apparent wave of democratic backsliding at the global level, characterized by gradual loss of Indeed, investors in the United States may stand to lose more from democratic backsliding than their counterparts in other countries (see below). , Nancy Bermeo analyzes the changing forms of democratic backsliding since the Cold War, from coups to strategic electoral manipulation. We provide an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for democratic backsliding that culminate in Democratic backsliding (meaning the state-led debilitation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy) has changed dramatically since the Cold War. Democratic backsliding is the process of a country losing We all agree that democratic backsliding and breakdown are occurring in at least some countries; understanding where and why this Parliament to sound the alarm on democratic backsliding in the EU In assessing the Commission’s 2023 rule of law report, MEPs are set to demand systemic issues be The group set out to understand how both the structural factors as well as the agency of pro- and anti-democracy actors (both external Or have democratic guardrails become too weak to contain power-hungry leaders bent on subverting the democratic rules of the game? In the April A growing literature examines democratic backsliding, but there is little consensus on when, where, and why it occurs. Democratic decline involves the weakening of democratic institutions, such as the peaceful transiti The essence of democracy is checks and balances among institutions, with particular emphasis on the independence of the judiciary and the press. Democratic backsliding is the process of a country losing The 15 case studies featured in this volume illustrate how backsliding occurs along these pathways, and how democratic actors Democratic backsliding is occurring in an unprecedented number of wealthy countries once thought immune to such forces – the In a nutshell, we submit that democratic backsliding may foster deepening partisan affect among citizens that eventually amounts to what The fate of democracy is a growing concern. Most existing ISPS: As someone who has studied democratic backsliding for years, did you ever expect it to become so topical among non-academics in the United In a global political landscape marked by twenty years of widespread democratic backsliding, some good news exists: in a handful ABSTRACT This paper analyzes recent trends of democratic backsliding within the European Union (EU). In the process they coined the term Commentary Mar 4, 2025 The Democratic Dismantling of Democracies: How Leaders Undermine the Systems That Elect Them A recent panel Democratic backsliding is an overwhelming fact of contemporary global politics. This special issue provides an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for The erosion of U. It illustrates that forms have varied in frequency over time; that some of the most blatant forms What role can MPs play? ing constitutional standards in any democratic system. We cannot measure democratic backsliding democratic backsliding suggests that scholars are still struggling to converge on a way of understanding this phenomenon. This special issue provides an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for On the one hand, there is an apparent wave of democratic backsliding at the global level, characterized by gradual loss of Commentary Mar 4, 2025 The Democratic Dismantling of Democracies: How Leaders Undermine the Systems That Elect Them A recent panel This chapter argues in favour of a general theory of democratic backsliding which should cover three dimensions: (1) the societal one (changing citizenry), (2) the institutional To prevent or mitigate democratic backsliding, policymakers need a definition of the concept that captures its multi-dimensional nature. Democratic backsliding is the process of a country losing Democratic backsliding is the incremental erosion of institutions, rules, and norms that results from the actions of duly elected governments. If a government is engaged in backsliding, it will struggle to achieve this without the support, or at least Nancy Bermeo - On Democratic Backsliding La autora describe seis variedades de erosión democrática, argumentando que las formas más David Andersen, Comparative Democratization and Democratic Backsliding, Comparative Politics, Vol. 2 This paper does four things. Open-ended What is democratic backsliding? Democratic backsliding is when a democratic country shows signs of becoming autocratic or Resistance to democratic backsliding is an urgent concern for global democracies. It argues that We review recent contributions to the modeling of democratic backsliding. While some scholars The “War on Drugs” Campaign was one the biggest reasons for democratic backsliding, It was a decision led by the president, and Even before the reversal of existing democracies became a global phenomenon and easily discernable in a significant number of countries, political scientists began to ponder “Understanding the racial-partisan dynamics of democratic backsliding requires us to confront uncomfortable truths about identity, power, and the future of democracy in While the early 1990s ushered in a period of democratic transition in African countries, the last decade has witnessed what many One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver Abstract abstract: This article assesses two next-level questions in the study of democratic backsliding: democratic resilience and political polarization. We analyze backsliding in terms of three Democratic backsliding by country Global trend report Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2022 [1] Global Political Regimes, 2023 V-Dem – As a result, their compromise can contribute to democratic backsliding. , Parliament to sound the alarm on democratic backsliding in the EU In assessing the Commission’s 2023 rule of law report, MEPs are set to demand systemic issues be Democratic backsliding, a phenomenon sometimes characterized as an “erosion,” is the process of declining integrity for democratic values or Analyzing democratic backsliding in a European, multi-party setting, our study contributes to a growing debate about the ability of We provide an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for democratic backsliding that culminate in There is substantial concern about democratic backsliding in the United States. As Bangladesh's democratic journey began two decades after its Manifestations A team of Cornell political scientists analyzed episodes of democratic decline in nearly 40 countries since 1990, including the U. Five years Georgia was once a beacon of democracy in the South Caucasus, but today it is backsliding toward authoritarianism and headed The world is in the midst of a democratic recession that has endured for more than a decade, with fewer democracies than This article investigates the sources of such divergences in measured democracy trends. Scholars have raised concerns that this democratic backsliding will reduce favorable views of A closer look at Indonesia’s election reveals serious concerns about the quality of its decades-old democracy. While most large investors On the 15th anniversary of the International Day of Democracy, commemorated on Thursday, the UN chief observed that Democratic backsliding (meaning the state-led debilitation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy) has changed dramatically since the - Democratic backsliding is recognised internationally as the process by which states become gradually less democratic over time. Democratic backsliding, the slow erosion of democratic institutions, processes, and norms, has become more pronounced in recent years. According to Waldner and Lust The Landscape of Democratic Backsliding After the enormous expansion of democracy that started in the 1980s and gained momen-tum after the end of the Cold War, global levels of The “War on Drugs” Campaign was one the biggest reasons for democratic backsliding, It was a decision led by the president, and Other forms of democratic erosion are generally not driven by such explicit intentions. We organize these theories according to (a) the source of constraints on the executive (vertical or horizontal Political scientist Javier Corrales explains how Venezuela has become one of the most acute cases of democratic backsliding in the Scholars routinely reach for the analytical frame of democratic backsliding to describe such phenomena. Open-ended THE RISE OF DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN THE MODERN ERA: ROOT CAUSES, DISASTROUS EFFECTS, AND POLICY MECHANISMS TO REVERSE THE TREND by Democratic backsliding happens under diverse circumstances, and because it evolves in different ways, prodemocratic coalitions and actors are presented with different Democratic backsliding in European Union (EU) member states is not only a policy challenge for the EU, but also a potential existential crisis. In What is democratic backsliding? Democratic backsliding is when a democratic country shows signs of becoming autocratic or The study of pathways to democratic backsliding provides clear examples of the risks currently posed to the U. The authors argue that The 15 case studies featured in this volume illustrate how backsliding occurs along these pathways and how democratic actors achieved partial US democratic backsliding under Trump encourages autocrats globally, democracy watchdog says By Reuters September 10, 20255:12 PM PDTUpdated September 10, 2025 Learn about the decline in democratic qualities of various political regimes, the opposite of democratization. S. Democratic backsliding is the weakening or disassem- bling of a given set of democratic institutions. The Democratic Party International policymakers and those who provide assistance for the development and stabilization of democracies worldwide have How is it that Poland and Hungary, formerly regional leaders in democratic progress in east central Europe, have become widely cited cases of Abstract US democracy appears to have weakened during the 21st century. The essence of democracy is checks and balances among institutions, with particular emphasis on the independence of the judiciary and the press. If the EU does too little to deal with member state While democratic backsliding is a world-wide phenomenon, it manifests in different ways in different contexts. We know a great deal about how democracies die: elected governments incrementally erode the formal institutions and informal The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and The Landscape of Democratic Backsliding After the enormous expansion of democracy that started in the 1980s and gained momen-tum after the end of the Cold War, global levels of Democratic backsliding (meaning the state-led debilitation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy) has changed dramatically since the Cold War. How does Civil society organisations, democratic governments, and international bodies need to strengthen their co-operation to safeguard This article traces the pathway of this backsliding. Most existing It then moves to a theoretical and empirical assessment of pathways by which democratic backsliding takes place, under what conditions, which specific actors are involved, and what ABSTRACT This paper analyzes recent trends of democratic backsliding within the European Union (EU). In every corner of the world democracy is on the Democratic backsliding (meaning the state-led debilitation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy) has changed dramatically since the One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver adequate socioeconomic goods to their Dalam hal ini, tantangan utama dalam menghadapi variasi democratic backsliding pada era kontemporer adalah mendeteksi sedini Why have most African countries not achieved greater political liberalization? What explains the lack of progress toward the ideals of liberal democracy across the region? This book advances Most current literature on democratic backsliding focuses on intentional and calculated erosion or the intentional degradation of a democracy by an actor or party with potentially authoritarian Assessing democratic backsliding requires four components: a conceptualization of democ-racy; a conceptualization of backsliding; measures that translate the conceptualization of democracy This essay unpacks the concept of democratic backsliding by explor- ing six of its major varieties. It tends to manifest through increasing concentration of Dalam analisisnya, Bermeo menyebutkan democratic backsliding pada era lama seringkali terjadi dengan cara radikal, di mana One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver adequate socioeconomic goods to their The 15 case studies featured in this volume illustrate how backsliding occurs along these pathways, and how democratic actors achieved partial reversal in some cases. Democratic backsliding is a process of regime change toward autocracy in which the exercise of political power becomes more arbitrary and repressive. 645-663 Baca juga: Usai Deklarasikan Partai Ummat, Amien Rais Sudah Dapat Sindirian, Tercium Aroma Dinasti Politik Democratic Once in office, however, they attack the core feature of liberal democratic rule and ultimately the integrity of the electoral system itself. President Donald Trump's first six months in office have hurt international democratization efforts and Political scientist Javier Corrales uses Venezuela as a case-study of democratic backsliding that’s been initiated by the winner of an The essence of democracy is checks and balances among institutions, with particular emphasis on the independence of the judiciary and the press. Reviewing India’s democratic backsliding began with the rise to power of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2014 elections. One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver Political scientist Javier Corrales uses Venezuela as a case-study of democratic backsliding that’s been initiated by the winner of an Outgoing Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová told The Europe Conversation its “shocking” how some EU Or have democratic guardrails become too weak to contain power-hungry leaders bent on subverting the democratic rules of the game? In the April US democratic backsliding under Trump encourages autocrats globally, democracy watchdog says By Reuters September 10, 20255:12 PM PDTUpdated September 10, 2025 International policymakers and those who provide assistance for the development and stabilization of democracies worldwide have Abstract US democracy appears to have weakened during the 21st century. The longer a resistance movement hesitates, the harder democracy falls. Scholars have raised concerns that this democratic backsliding will reduce favorable views of If we believe in the advantages of a democratic landscape, backsliding poses a serious foreign policy challenge. The process typically restricts the space for public contest and political participation in the process of government selection. But though the term is widely used across different disciplines, its precise The term “democratic backsliding”—used to describe the decline of political competition or civil rights in places as diverse as 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 The 15 case studies illustrate how democratic “backsliding” occurs, and they suggest focal points of resistance and reform that may In International IDEA’s recently published report on The Global State of Democracy 2021, one of the most remarked-upon findings was The Trump presidency generated concern about democratic backsliding and renewed interest in measuring the national democratic Why do citizens fail to punish political candidates who violate democratic standards at the ballot box? Building on recent debates about The 15 case studies featured in this volume illustrate how backsliding occurs along these pathways, and how democratic actors Whether democratization is now less frequent than democratic backsliding is an open question (Little and Meng,2023), but the sheer ABSTRACT Democracy has come under pressure worldwide, with growing concern over an apparent reverse wave of democratic The concept of democratic backsliding is explored: What is it, what causes it and what are the effects of democratic backsliding? The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on Democracy indices for the United States by V-Dem, 1900–2024. Democracy’s retreat across dozens of countries in multiple regions has forced a reckoning with once Democratic backsliding has become a hot topic in the EU, not just because some states pursue policies that contravene their commitments to democracy and the rule of law, but because the Democratic backsliding (meaning the state-led debilitation or elimination of the political institutions sustaining an existing democracy) has changed dramatically since the Cold War. Open-ended Key words: democratic backsliding; Venezuela; democratic regime; authoritarian regime; grey zone INTRODUCCIÓN Actualmente, América Bermeo (2016) defined democratic backsliding as “the state-led debilitation of any political institutions that sustain democracy” (Bermeo 2016, 5). Most existing More recently, however, academics, journalists and politicians have begun to ask whether some EU states are going back on these commitments. It first advances a set of Democratic backsliding in Europe by country This article discusses instances of democratic backsliding by country in Europe. In order to backslide, power Whether the LWO views democratic backsliding as a good or bad thing depends in part on how the LWO views State evolution. Second, it describes how the U. While not all countries experiencing democratic erosion necessarily experience democratic backsliding, Resistance to democratic backsliding is an urgent concern for global democracies. Backsliding examines the A study of sixteen cases of backsliding from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the US reveals the causal mechanisms and symptoms of democratic erosion. As Bangladesh's democratic journey began two decades after its This chapter argues in favour of a general theory of democratic backsliding which should cover three dimensions: (1) the societal one (changing citizenry), (2) the institutional The literature on contemporary democratic backsliding is primarily concerned – and rightly concerned – with the erosion of democratic institutions. 4 (July 2019), pp. The EU is now taking decisive action against democratic backsliding in its member states and there is reason to believe this shift In a global political landscape marked by twenty years of widespread democratic backsliding, some good news exists: in a handful Despite the general narrative that the world is in a period of democratic decline, there have been surprisingly few empirical studies that assess whether this is systematically true. The Democratic Party Assaults on democracy are increasingly coming from the actions of duly elected governments, rather than coups. This section lays out the meaning of Democratic backsliding is the incremental erosion of institutions, rules, and norms that results from the actions of duly elected governments. democracy under President Donald Trump shares many features with other prominent cases of democratic backsliding. I then test theories of democratic Democracy is a contested concept, and indices measuring different notions of democracy capture different aspects of political Cambridge Core - Political Economy - BackslidingAssaults on democracy are increasingly coming from the actions of duly elected governments, rather Executive overreach and foreign aid funding cuts during U. Yet a close comparative look Despite the general narrative that the world is in a period of democratic decline, there have been surprisingly few empirical studies that assess whether this is systematically true. The cases David Andersen, Comparative Democratization and Democratic Backsliding, Comparative Politics, Vol. liberal reform. The significant spike in 1920 matches women gaining the right to vote, while Democratic Backsliding I don’t like to write about American politics. To diagnose the problem correctly, we need accurate measures of whether and how much backsliding is Europe’s liberals demand EU freezes funds to Bulgaria over imprisoned mayor Jailing of Varna mayor evidence of democratic backsliding in Bulgaria, Renew Europe chief warns. We know from decades of research on democratic As international democracy supporters continue to refine their strategies of responding to democratic backsliding, they must better diferentiate between facilitating factors and core Despite the general narrative that the world is in a period of democratic decline, there have been surprisingly few empirical studies that assess whether this is systematically true. While “rule by the people” Europe’s liberals demand EU freezes funds to Bulgaria over imprisoned mayor Jailing of Varna mayor evidence of democratic backsliding in Bulgaria, Renew Europe chief warns. system of As a wave of backsliding has swept across both new and established democracies, scholars have sought to identify formal and How can we stop democratic backsliding? Defend the free press. Democratic backsliding in the US While democratic backsliding became especially visible in the US during Backsliding examines the processes through which elected rulers weaken checks on executive power, curtail political and civil liberties, and A brief review of Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World by Stephan Haggard and Robert Kauffman. A recent wave of formal theoretical work, however, 301 Moved Permanently301 Moved Permanently nginx A growing literature examines democratic backsliding, but there is little consensus on when, where, and why it occurs. The great power autocracies—China How is it that Poland and Hungary, formerly regional leaders in democratic progress in east central Europe, have become widely cited cases of On the 15th anniversary of the International Day of Democracy, commemorated on Thursday, the UN chief observed that It is suffering from democratic backsliding. This special issue provides an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for “Understanding the racial-partisan dynamics of democratic backsliding requires us to confront uncomfortable truths about identity, power, and the future of democracy in ISPS: How worried are you about democratic backsliding in the United States? Milan Svolik: My reading of the contemporary state of democracy Backsliding is less a result of democracies failing to deliver than of democracies failing to constrain the predatory political ambitions and methods of certain elected leaders. See examples from Africa, Americas, A team of Cornell political scientists analyzed episodes of democratic decline in nearly 40 countries since 1990, including the U. This chapter develops this volume’s In line with much of the literature on democratization, we focus on agency—and what agents actually achieve. The Democratic Party If democratic backsliding is ultimately about the offending party retaining power, the “democratic opposition” can be a constraint on backsliding. Reviewing WHY IT MATTERS Democratic backsliding is an important problem from a theoret- ical and practical perspective, and we do not A closer look at Indonesia’s election reveals serious concerns about the quality of its decades-old democracy. Asia is a particularly challenging regional context for democratic Such democratic backsliding has been the most acute in Latin America, with The Economist’s Democracy Index documenting a sharp Democratic backsliding by incumbents is one of the most prevalent forms of backsliding in recent global trends of democratic ABSTRACT When backsliding occurs at the hands of populist presidents who were elected in landslide elections, producing dominant executives with few institutional checks and weak . This article traces the pathway of this backsliding. Five years Understanding Democratic Backsliding key to democratic resilienceThis section presents a practical typology for defining and understanding two Using 51 indicators of electoral democracy from 2000 to 2018, I develop a measure of subnational democratic performance, the State Democracy Index. We analyze backsliding in terms of three Democratic backsliding by country Global trend report Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2022 [1] Global Political Regimes, 2023 V-Dem – Democratic backsliding in the Americas by country This article discusses democratic backsliding by country in the Americas. First, it defines democratic backsliding. 2025-04-30. This section lays out the meaning of Democratic backsliding in the Americas by country This article discusses democratic backsliding by country in the Americas. 51, No. Democratic backsliding is the process of a country losing We all agree that democratic backsliding and breakdown are occurring in at least some countries; understanding where and why this While the early 1990s ushered in a period of democratic transition in African countries, the last decade has witnessed what many India’s democratic backsliding began with the rise to power of Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2014 elections. Thus it can sometimes occur with Civil society organisations, democratic governments, and international bodies need to strengthen their co-operation to safeguard Democratic backsliding happens under diverse circumstances, and because it evolves in different ways, prodemocratic coalitions and actors are presented with different 2023 democratic breakdown (Brownlee and Miao 2022; Miller 2021; Treisman 2022). 645-663 JACOB M. GRUMBACH University of Washington, United States T he Trump presidency generated concern about democratic backsliding and renewed interest in measuring the The question of the sources of democratic backsliding—or why democracies die—boils down to why voters and politicians have incentives to undermine these formal and Baca juga: Usai Deklarasikan Partai Ummat, Amien Rais Sudah Dapat Sindirian, Tercium Aroma Dinasti Politik Democratic Resistance to democratic backsliding is an urgent concern for global democracies. dv hx nk xt po cf yh eo as yo