Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/misunderstanding-democratic-backsliding/
Abstract:
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 citizens, leading voters to forsake democracy and embrace antidemocratic politicians who undermine democracy once elected. Yet a close look at twelve important cases of recent backsliding casts doubt on this thesis, finding that while it has some explanatory power in some cases, it has little in others, and even where it applies, it requires nuanced interpretation. 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. Policymakers and aid providers seeking to limit backsliding should tailor their diplomatic and aid interventions accordingly.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/misunderstanding-democratic-backsliding/
Abstract:
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 citizens, leading voters to forsake democracy and embrace antidemocratic politicians who undermine democracy once elected. Yet a close look at twelve important cases of recent backsliding casts doubt on this thesis, finding that while it has some explanatory power in some cases, it has little in others, and even where it applies, it requires nuanced interpretation. 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. Policymakers and aid providers seeking to limit backsliding should tailor their diplomatic and aid interventions accordingly.
Delivering for Democracy: Why Results Matter
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/delivering-for-democracy-why-results-matter/
Abstract:
The global wave of democratic backsliding has questioned the ascendancy of democracy in the twenty-first century. A purported decline in political trust and satisfaction with democracy, alongside the rise of high-performing autocracies, has sparked conjectures that popular support for the democratic project is eroding in favor of new, more authoritarian alternatives. Part of this discussion concerns the extent to which service delivery and outcomes matter for the legitimacy and stability of democracy. We argue that delivery for citizens is crucial to rebuilding the social contract and hence support for democracy alongside thwarting backsliding. We reflect on infrastructure as a public good for exposition.
Beyond Performance: Why Leaders Still Matter
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/beyond-performance-why-leaders-still-matter/
Abstract:
In their response to “Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding,” Francis Fukuyama, Chris Dann, and Beatriz Magaloni defend the proposition that democracies’ failure to deliver is a primary cause of democratic backsliding. Yet evidence that poor economic performance correlates with citizen dissatisfaction with democracy falls short as an explanation of backsliding. Democracy has persisted in some faltering economies while eroding in various strong economies. Moreover, the leaders driving the rise of electoral autocracy were often elected promising to reform, not dismantle, democracy. A focus on the methods and motivations of such leaders, and the failure of existing guardrails to constrain them, remains essential to explaining democracy backsliding.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/delivering-for-democracy-why-results-matter/
Abstract:
The global wave of democratic backsliding has questioned the ascendancy of democracy in the twenty-first century. A purported decline in political trust and satisfaction with democracy, alongside the rise of high-performing autocracies, has sparked conjectures that popular support for the democratic project is eroding in favor of new, more authoritarian alternatives. Part of this discussion concerns the extent to which service delivery and outcomes matter for the legitimacy and stability of democracy. We argue that delivery for citizens is crucial to rebuilding the social contract and hence support for democracy alongside thwarting backsliding. We reflect on infrastructure as a public good for exposition.
https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/beyond-performance-why-leaders-still-matter/
Abstract:
In their response to “Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding,” Francis Fukuyama, Chris Dann, and Beatriz Magaloni defend the proposition that democracies’ failure to deliver is a primary cause of democratic backsliding. Yet evidence that poor economic performance correlates with citizen dissatisfaction with democracy falls short as an explanation of backsliding. Democracy has persisted in some faltering economies while eroding in various strong economies. Moreover, the leaders driving the rise of electoral autocracy were often elected promising to reform, not dismantle, democracy. A focus on the methods and motivations of such leaders, and the failure of existing guardrails to constrain them, remains essential to explaining democracy backsliding.