Publication: How democratic backsliding and populism affect trust in democratic institutions
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Date
2025-04-30
Authors
Palacios Brihuega, Irene
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Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Derecho
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Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2025.2494246
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
In recent decades, there is a widespread perception that we are witnessing a period of confluent crises that are putting world democracies under strain. On the one hand, there is an apparent wave of democratic backsliding at the global level, characterized by gradual loss of democratic quality, weakening checks on executive power, and rising pernicious polarization, among others. On the other hand, populist leaders with illiberal leanings are grabbing power in both democratic and non-democratic regimes. Besides this, citizens seem to be more willing to tolerate undemocratic behaviours, which has been seen as a clear symptom of a crisis of democratic confidence. By combining a global dataset on individuals’ democratic attitudes and vote choice with macro-level data on populist/non-populist incumbents and democratic backsliding, this article investigates voters’ reactions to backsliding in contexts where incumbents are reasonably expected to commit backsliding (i.e. populist-led regimes) and contexts where backsliding is unlikely to unfold - but it (sometimes) occurs (i.e. non-populist-led regimes). Its main findings indicate that non-populist supporters in backsliding scenarios led by populist incumbents may shape as a resilient force to protect pluralistic democratic institutions, as they reinforce their confidence in both parliaments and political parties as backsliding becomes persistent.
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Citation
Palacios, I. (2025). How democratic backsliding and populism affect trust in democratic institutions. Democratization, 32(8), 1827-1850.
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