Resistance to democratic backsliding is an urgent concern for global democracies. This volume provides an analytical framework that identifies three distinct institutional pathways for democratic backsliding that culminate in executive aggrandizement: legislative capture, plebiscitary override, and executive power grabs. A fourth pathway of elite collusion erodes democracy without necessarily concentrating powers in the executive. These four pathways reflect different combinations of ruling and opposition party strength, institutional legitimacy, and levels of popular support and political mobilization. The pathways also open and close different institutional and societal arenas where opposition forces can counter backsliding, and they create different opportunities, challenges, and dilemmas for democratic actors.
The 15 case studies featured in this volume illustrate how backsliding occurs along these pathways and how democratic actors achieved partial reversal in some cases. The cases suggest focal points of resistance and reform that may be helpful to policymakers and advocates working to defend democracy.
