January 6 th and De-Democratization in the United States

Ernesto Castañeda () and Daniel Jenks
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Ernesto Castañeda: Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, Immigration Lab, Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Daniel Jenks: Immigration Lab, Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: The events of January 6 th were a clear example of threats to American democracy. De-democratization is a process that preceded Trump’s election and that can still be seen in the United States and around the world. Social theorist Charles Tilly wrote about how becoming a democracy is not a unidirectional, one-time event or goal, but a non-linear process. This paper analyzes developments in the United States that signal rises and falls in the level of democracy over the last several decades. It discusses Donald Trump’s rise to power, the insurrection on January 6 th , 2021, and the state of inclusion of ethnoracial minorities in the United States. It uses Tilly’s proposed processes of democratization and de-democratization. This more nuanced understanding of democracy and state–society relations helps avoid celebratory stances about the promise of electoral politics as well as pessimistic assessments about the imminent arrival of fascism and authoritarianism.

Keywords: Charles Tilly; democratic regimes; democratization; democratic erosion; categorical inequality; charisma; Donald Trump (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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