How to study democratic backsliding

Druckman, James N.

doi:10.1111/pops.12942

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 308 publications

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“…Other micro-level factors surely matter, such as antiestablishment orientations (Uscinski et al 2021), group threat (Bartels 2020; Mutz 2018), and system justification (Jost 2020). A compelling account of democratic backsliding requires the study of elite, societal, and citizen dynamics that contribute to erosive outcomes (Druckman 2023b). “Blame” for erosion should not be attributed solely to citizens and their levels of affective polarization.…”

Section: The Political and Democratic Consequences Of Affective Polar...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We argue, however, that it is exceedingly narrow to view mass affective polarization as a necessary condition of democratic erosion, which typically depends on elite actions. Affective polarization may play some role, but a holistic account of backsliding needs to attend to various elite-, societal-, and citizen-level factors and the interplay among them (Druckman 2023b). It could be that affective polarization sometimes contributes to erosion, but erosion can presumably occur without affective polarization.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Does Affective Polarization Contribute to Democratic Backsliding in America?

Druckman,

Green,

Iyengar

2023

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

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A notable development in 21st-century American politics is the rise of affective polarization: partisans increasingly dislike and distrust those affiliated with the other political party. We offer a wide-ranging review of the nature of party identification; the factors that contribute to affective polarization; and the consequences of this kind of polarization on electoral politics, democratic transgressions, and democratic functioning. We conclude that there is scant evidence of a direct link between affective polarization and democratic backsliding in the U.S., and we argue that understanding the erosion of democratic norms and institutions means that we should consider a wider range of potential causal factors among elites and the general citizenry. Affective polarization has likely made democratic functioning more difficult, though, so interventions to address it are worthwhile: these should focus on core causes rather than on behavioral symptoms.

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Section: The Political and Democratic Consequences Of Affective Polar...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Does Affective Polarization Contribute to Democratic Backsliding in America?

Druckman,

Green,

Iyengar

2023

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Scie

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“…Druckman (2024)'s recent study on democratic backsliding from a psychological perspective also stresses the need to look beyond the structural factors frequently discussed in political science. Yet whileDruckman (2024) also identifies elites as important actors in the backsliding process-along with social movements, interest groups, and campaign organizations-his framework does not address either the process of backsliding itself or potential interventions to stop it. Future research could therefore take a more process-oriented perspective, like the drift-to-danger model, and emphasize the role of non-elite actors in facilitating norm violations, a topic only briefly explored in this article.…”

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Dodging the autocratic bullet: Enlisting behavioural science to arrest democratic backsliding

Abels,

Huttunen,

Lewandowsky

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Despite a long history of research on democratic backsliding, the process itself---in which the executive branch amasses power and undermines democratic processes and institutions---remains poorly understood. We seek to shed light on the underlying mechanisms by studying democratic near misses: cases in which a period of autocratic governance is quickly reversed or full backsliding is prevented at the last minute. Building on the literature on near misses in socio-technical systems such as nuclear power plants, we adapt the drift-to-danger model to the study of democratic systems. Two key findings emerge: First, democratic backsliding is triggered by political elites pushing the boundaries of their power by violating norms, which are crucial yet vulnerable safeguards for democracy. Second, democratic backsliding is unpredictable and non-linear, being driven by the interaction between political elites and the public. Norm-violating elites may feel legitimised by a supportive public that sees norm violations as justified. At the same time, political elites may signal that norm-violating behaviour is acceptable, potentially leading the public to adopt anti-democratic beliefs and behaviours. We identify risk factors that make norm violations more likely and offer behavioural sciences-based interventions to address these violations.

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