lecture 12 Flashcards
Democratic breakdowns two forms
A) Military coups
B) Executive takeovers aka Authoritarianization: incumbent-driven subversions of democracy
stats on downgrades of democracies due to executive takeovers
Of 196 downgrades of democracies over the past 45 years –> 88
examples of executive takeovers
Chávez and Maduro in Venezuela, Orbán in Hungary
Putin in Russia
Erdogan in Turkey
conditions necessary for executive takeovers/authoritarianization
- enough popular support to capture the executive by democratic means
- enough electoral strength to control other branches of government, such as the legislature
why do executive takeovers need electoral strength
they could not make constitutional changes regarding e.g. the abolition of term limits, the political subjugation of the judiciary, and the expansion of executive power such as transforming a parliamentary systems into a presidential system
Why do voters support politicians that subvert democracy? (wrong hypotheses)
A) Maybe people don’t have enough time to notice or are simply not aware of what is happening to their democracy.
B) Maybe voters do not care much about democracy in the first place.
Why do voters support politicians that subvert democracy? (right answer)
trade-off in democratic politics:
Democratic principles vs. Partisan Interests
Authoritarian politicians exploit this dilemma, vote for the candidate who appeals to ur interests, or the more democratic candidate with less appealing
Democratic principles vs. Partisan Interests theory is most fruitful in:
deeply divided or polarized societies.
even voters who value democracy will be willing to sacrifice democratic principles for the sake of electing politicians that who champion their interests.
results from the experiment of the democratic vs partisian theory (conducted in US,Venezuela and Turkey)
A) Undemocratic positions by candidates can lead to a decrease in support of up to 35 percent.
But the magnitude of this punishment decreases as the partisan difference increases.
B) Centrists are a key democratic force:
Across all three country contexts, politically moderate voters were most likely to punish undemocratic candidates
→ because they are less invested in partisan interests.
Do military coups need citizens support
no
Does authoritarianism need citizens support
yes, they can stop democratic backsliding by simply not voting for politicians who subvert democratic principles.
(unrealistic in highly polarised situations)
reluctant accomplices in the regime
remember when reading a regression graph
the result is significant if it passes over the 0 mark
Its wideness/narrowness shows the confidence interval, it is more accurate if it is smaller
