The world’s democracies are struggling. Whether they will find their way out of this crisis depends on whether they can revive a lost sense of value for democracy and build the political strength to defend it against threats from the outside and within.
When we think of a democracy in trouble, our first instinct is to picture tanks on the streets, a presidential palace burning, or other dramatic acts of state power. After all, coups d’etat have been the primary cause of democratic breakdown in many countries since the Cold War, including Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, and most recently, the Maldives and Thailand. But a closer look at the evidence suggests that a more dangerous, deceptive path to democratic breakdown may be underway.
Elected autocrats can kill a democracy, not by a violent overthrow but by subverting the institutions that give democracy its legitimacy. They pack and “weaponize” courts and other neutral agencies, buy off or bully media outlets into silence, and rewrite the rules of politics to tilt them against opponents. These actions, framed as a necessary response to economic crises or the need for security, can gradually erode a democracy’s core and weaken its bulwarks against predatory leaders.
As the evidence reveals, a combination of state- and society-led efforts can reinvigorate a democracy and strengthen its resiliency against backsliding. Amid an era of momentous challenges, it is more important than ever to recognize the ways that democracy-weakening and democracy-strengthening trends intersect.