DPI-413
Democratic Backsliding
Fall 2024
Pippa Norris
Class time: Mondays 8:30-10.15am Littauer 230, HKS
Shopping: via Zoom (p/w Pippa) Tuesday 3rd September Session I: 9.00-9.30am OR Session II: 9.45-10.15am
First class: Monday 9 Sept 8.30-10.15am Littauer 230
Download the DPI-413 Fall 2024 syllabus
Aims and objectives:
This course provides the analytical knowledge and practical skills to understand democratic backsliding both in the United States and worldwide.
The early 21st Century has seen warning signals that peoples in America and every part of the world face clear and present danger from liberal democratic backsliding and authoritarian resurgence. Specific dramatic cases are commonly highlighted, exemplified by developments in cases such as the US, Hungary, India, and Venezuela. Backsliding erodes the quality of liberal democracies -- sometimes triggering their eventual breakdown and collapse. Meanwhile, authoritarian states have also become more repressive at home and emboldened abroad, challenging human rights, G7 and NATO alliances, and the rules-based world order.
At the same time, however, considerable debate surrounds the direction and severity of any global downturn in liberal democracy – other Western countries may not reflect American experiences. And no consensus exists about the weight which should be assigned to the general drivers of any reversals which do occur, including the roles of agency (strongman leaders), culture (authoritarian values), and structure (institutional guardrails). There is even less certainty concerning the most effective remedies counteracting these developments.
Part I in this course opens by discussing the concept of backsliding, the measurement and classification of democratic and autocratic regimes, and the debate about interpreting global trends.
Part II considers multiple explanations for political developments. This includes (i) agency and leadership accounts focused on the rise of strongman rulers through processes of executive aggrandizement; (ii) institutional theories emphasizing flawed constitutional and legal guardrails; (iii) cultural and social structural theories concerning the erosion of popular support for democracy and the civic culture among ordinary citizens, fueling growing polarization and the rise of authoritarian populist parties and leaders; and (iv) international relations, including geopolitical forces beyond the boundaries of the nation-state.
Part III considers several practical policy options and institutional reforms staunching backsliding and strengthening liberal democracy, to understand what we can learn from best practices around the world. This section focuses on: (i) reforms to strengthen electoral systems and electoral integrity designed to reduce contentious elections undermining the peaceful transfer of power; (ii) what can be done to support the free press and reduce the spread of misinformation and disinformation in the digital age; (iii) power-sharing constitutional reforms strengthening the horizontal accountability of the executive; and lastly (iv) the role of international aid and democratic technical assistance.
The course adopts a comparative perspective, to understand developments in American democracy in a global context, using cross-national time-series data and selected case-studies of the process. Assignments include a mid-term workgroup regional report, a final individual research report, and class participation throughout. Some familiarity with statistics and data visualization is useful but not essential. Hands-on class sessions will encourage professional skills in data visualization.
The class encourages the capacity to think critically about contemporary problems, to read widely beyond the headlines, to craft evidence-based reports for a broad practitioner readership, and to communicate effectively using professional skills.
Pedagogy
The course will use four main methods of instruction and learning: see the syllabus for details.
Weekly class discussion sessions Mondays 8.30-10.15
Weekly asynchronous pre-class lecture video and readings
Weekly live online peer-learning workgroups (starting mid-Sept)
Office hours: individual by signup appointment via zoom