Lecture 13 Flashcards
What factors can facilitate democratic recession?
- Institutional factors (presidentialism or absence of accountability mechanisms)
- Societal factors (low support for democracy or polarisation)
- International factors (linkages with partners or weak international communities)
- Economic factors (inequality)
- Crises
What is democratic defence?
Democratic defence refers to the ability of democracies to prevent or react to challenges without losing their democratic character, aiming for resilient democracies.
What are resilient democracies?
Democracies that can prevent or react to challenges without losing their democratic character, facilitated by good circumstances and actors who stand up to defend democracy.
Who were the democratic defenders in the first two waves of autocratisation?
The incumbents, defending democracy from outside pressure.
Who are the democratic defenders in the third wave of autocratisation?
Institutional resisters, political resisters, and social resisters.
Who are institutional resisters and what can they do?
Judges and bureaucrats who can stop authoritarian projects by enforcing norms and raising awareness. Their institutional role, which is their power, is often under attack by the incumbent.
Who are political resisters and what can they do?
Party members and opposition who can find a common platform over intra-opposition cleavages and animosity to cut short the incumbent advantage of the autocratiser. They are often silenced by the autocratic regime.
Who are social resisters and what can they do?
Media magnates, activists, and civil society who can take to the streets to voice their discontent, but only peacefully and well-organised for it to work. They are often oppressed by the autocratic regime.
