Democratic Backsliding - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Democratic Backsliding, a subtle yet insidious process, describes the incremental erosion of democratic qualities within established political systems. Unlike overt coups or revolutions, backsliding involves a gradual weakening of institutions, norms, and practices that sustain democracy from within. While the term itself is relatively recent, the phenomenon has shadowed democratic experiments for centuries, often masked by claims of popular mandate or national interest.
References to the slow decay of republican ideals can be traced back to the writings of Polybius in the 2nd century BCE, who warned of the cyclical degeneration of government forms, including democracy. Niccolo Machiavelli, in The Discourses on Livy (1517), explored how republics can be corrupted from within through the ambition of powerful figures. These early observations, while not explicitly using the term "democratic backsliding," hinted at the inherent fragility of self-governance and the ever-present risk of its unraveling. The late 18th Century witnessed further insights in James Madison's exploration of the tyranny of the majority and the importance of institutional checks against democratic excess in The Federalist Papers, particularly Federalist No. 10.
The 20th and 21st centuries have seen "democratic backsliding" gain broader recognition as scholars and policymakers grappled with instances of democratic erosion in countries once considered stable democracies. The rise of populist movements, the manipulation of electoral laws, and the suppression of independent media have all been identified as indicators of backsliding. Cases like Weimar Germany in the 1930s, or more recently, political developments in Hungary, Poland, and Turkey, have fueled intense debate and theoretical refinement. Are these isolated incidents, or do they represent a broader trend toward democratic decay? What role do international actors play in either preventing or exacerbating backsliding? Such questions underscore the enduring relevance of this field of study.
Today, democratic backsliding continues to challenge assumptions about the inevitability of democratic progress. Its subtle and often legalistic nature makes it difficult to detect and counteract. As democracies face new challenges from disinformation campaigns to economic inequality, understanding the dynamics of backsliding is more critical than ever. Does the future hold a reversal of this trend, or will democracies continue to grapple with the specter of their own internal decline, a process veiled in the language of legitimacy and progress?