Democratic backsliding

Democratic backsliding is the process by which a democratic government shifts in the direction of authoritarianism. When most democratic governments were founded, the designers created the government in a manner that limited its power. They assumed that the general populace would preserve its rights by not allowing politicians into office who sought to take away peoples’ rights. However, modern studies show that voters tend to prioritize ideologies and political partisanship over democratic principles.

In previous eras, political theorists assumed that democratic backsliding would occur rapidly, such as through military coups that suddenly seized control of governments. While this has happened on occasion across the globe, many modern theorists believe that democratic backsliding is occurring in a slower manner. They argue that elected politicians are slowly breaking down the checks and balances within their governments, gradually increasing the power of one specific branch. Because this type of power accumulation occurs more slowly, it may be much more difficult for the average voter to realize what is happening. The result of such backsliding may be a government that appears to be a democracy, but with functional power held within the hands of just a few politicians. In practice, such a government is more authoritarian than democratic.

Background

Democracies are forms of government that give people a significant say in the decisions of a nation. Though they were less common than other forms of government throughout much of human history, democracies have existed since ancient times. Ancient Greece is particularly famous for practicing direct democracy, a variant of a democratic government in which every citizen is given one vote on all governmental manners. However, it should be noted that most residents of Ancient Greece were not considered full citizens, and thus had no voice in their government. Only free, adult men were considered citizens, and were thus allowed to vote.

Direct democracy is an extremely fair and representative form of government. For this reason, it is still utilized in small towns and organizations across the world. However, as populations grow, direct democracy becomes significantly less practical. Larger populations are difficult to organize, and holding votes between thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people for every governmental decision would be too slow for any government to be effective. Additionally, every citizen of a nation cannot be expected to educate themselves on all issues related to governance. For this reason, many nations developed a representative democracy.

In this form of government, groups of citizens each elect a person to bring their opinions to a much smaller council. Each representative at the council brings the concerns and viewpoint of their electorate to the government, and makes decisions on behalf of those people. This allows a small group of full-time representatives to run a nation, while still allowing the everyday person a substantial say in their government. Unfortunately, officials elected as representatives of the people do not always act in a manner that represents the interests of those people. In some cases, they may act in a way that they feel will benefit the nation as a whole, even if their electorate disagrees. In other cases, they may act in a manner that personally benefits themselves.

Overview

Democratic backsliding is the process of nations gradually shifting away from democratic principles and toward more-authoritarian styles of government. Throughout the last several centuries, many world governments shifted in a democratic direction. Monarchies were abolished or had their power reduced by parliaments, and many colonial regions broke away from larger empires, forming their own democratic governments. However, in recent years, scholars and political theorists have noted that many world governments are abandoning democratic principles, shifting back towards authoritarianism.

Scholars note that this change may be occurring for many reasons. When democratic governments are founded, most governments assume that the general public will serve as a check against the power of authoritarian practices. The designers of governments often believed that the public would not allow authoritarian politicians to remain in office, either voting them out or staging a revolution if the politicians failed to relinquish power. However, recent studies in America have shown that only a small portion of American voters act primarily on the basis of democratic principles. Instead, they prize partisanship and ideology. As nations have become increasingly politically polarized, with the gulf between conservative voters and liberal voters widening, people have become more likely to simply vote in favor of any politician that supports their ideology. This gives authoritarian leaders a better chance to seize power by allying themselves with a group of voters with strongly held, polarizing beliefs.

In previous eras, political theorists believed that democratic backsliding would occur suddenly, most probably when a military coup allowed a leader to immediately take control of a government. This type of backsliding has occurred on the world stage. For example, in 2013, Egypt experienced a sudden military coup. However, political theorists now believe that the most common form of democratic backsliding will occur slowly. They argue that it will be more common for lawfully elected leaders to slowly change the government from within, eroding checks and balances in order to give themselves or their party more power. If allowed to proceed, this style of backsliding could result in a government that still resembles a democracy, but is actually authoritarian. In 2021 the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) stated in its global report that a quarter of the world’s population lived in countries experiencing democratic backsliding, including Brazil, India, and the United States.

This style of backsliding is far more difficult to stop. Because the change happens slowly, the average voter may not realize that governmental power is being concentrated in a small group of people. Additionally, once the process begins, the small number of voters who may realize what is occurring may be unable to stop it. For this reason, many governments have been designed with robust systems of checks and balances to stop one portion of the government from growing disproportionately powerful.

Bibliography

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