Backsliding and Democratic Resilience: Prevention, Resistance, and Recovery

Robert R Kaufman

Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series from Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California

Abstract: Global democracy faces escalating threats, both among long-standing and newer “third wave” democratic systems. The extent and causes of democratic backsliding have been subjects of considerable analysis and debate. However, there is still relatively limited discussion of the conditions in which democracy might be resilient to such challenges. This paper addresses this analytical gap by examining four crucial dimensions of democratic resilience: factors that help insulate democracy from backsliding; whether there are ways to respond to illiberal leaders; what factors contribute to democratic resilience if such a leader does gain power; and whether democracies can “bounce back” after authoritarians have been ousted from power.

Keywords: Social and Behavioral Sciences; Democracy; democratic backsliding; democratic resilience; authoritarianism; illiberalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11-04
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