Democratization

Democratization (and the inverse, autocratization or democratic backsliding) are comparative fields of study of (positively) how democracy is established and (normatively) how its establishment can be encouraged.

Description

Democratization is a field of study approached by many competing theories and frameworks. As examples:

• Some authors explore democratic backslide as a consequence of 'worsening' political polarization, and therefore apply affective polarization or constructivist methods. These typically lean into the normative side of the field.

• Some authors explore autocracy as an instrument: an institution that is designed to extract benefits from one group for another. This is also an example of positive theory in this field.

Reading Notes

• Autocracy, Gordon Tullock, 1987

• International Human Rights Law and Practice in Latin America, Ellen Lutz and Kathryn Sikkink, 2000

• The Toddler In Chief, Daniel W. Drezner, 2020

• Dodging the autocratic bullet: enlisting behavioural science to arrest democratic backsliding; Christoph M. Abels, Kiia Jasmin Alexandra Huttunen, Ralph Hertwig, and Stephan Lewandowsky; 2024

• There Are No Adults in the Room, Daniel W. Drezner, 2025

• Defending the Status Quo or Seeking Change? Electoral Outcomes, Affective Polarization, and Support for Referendums, Bjarn Eck and Emilien Paulis, 2025

• Democratic Trajectories in the Third Wave: Aligning Theory and Methods, Aníbal Pérez-Liñán and Scott Mainwaring, 2025

• Visibility of autocratization and election outcomes Erin Hern, 2025

• Electoral participation and satisfaction with democracy in Central and Eastern Europe; Filip Kostelka, Lukáš Linek, Jan Rovny, and Michael Škvrňák; 2025

• "Do I want it if we’ll lose it?" Democratic preferences of national minorities in federal states; Christoph Niessen, Sean Mueller, and Min Reuchamps; 2025

CategoryRicottone