210058 SE BAK8: Contemporary threats to democracy (2026S)

There is widespread agreement, both within and outside the academic community, that democracy is under severe threat. New authoritarian and 'illiberal' forces are said to be attacking democratic institutions across the world and gradually eroding them when in power. While Samuel Huntington charted a 'third wave of democratisation' in the early 1990s, political scientists have recently spoken of a 'third wave of autocratisation'. The 2023 report by the Swedish Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute — the organisation behind the most widely used democracy index — indeed observes that 'In a decade, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen has deteriorated to levels last seen in 1986 — more than 35 years ago'.

How can we make sense of these developments? This seminar addresses this important and urgent question by equipping students with a solid understanding of the key debates and controversies in the field. The seminar is divided into four parts. The first part, 'Foundational Texts and Critical Reflections', engages with the foundational texts in this emerging field of study and critically reflects on some of the core concepts used, notably the notion of 'democratic backsliding'. The second part, 'Measurement', deals extensively with the V-Dem index, the most influential index for measuring the quality of democracy, exploring its conceptual foundations, coding strategy, and use of empirical indicators. The third part ('Cases, Actors and Mechanisms') examines various explanations for de-democratisation, including authoritarian parties' hegemonic strategies, citizens' attitudes towards democracy, and the influence of supranational and international agents on domestic democratic development. The fourth part, 'Remedies', considers how de-democratisation might be halted, examining proposals such as strengthening 'democratic resilience' in fragile political systems. Throughout, the seminar connects cutting-edge comparative political science scholarship with related debates in legal studies and political theory, taking a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to de-democratisation.