In brief
Recent global events raise pressing concerns about the fragility of democracies and the tactics employed by autocratic leaders to retain power.
In the democratic landscape of the 21st century, the resilience of democratic governance is under threat from rising autocracies. Experts like Adam Przeworski, a political scientist who fled Poland before the 1968 Prague Spring, are grappling with the question of why some democracies endure while others succumb to authoritarian rule. After witnessing the violent overthrow of democracy in Chile during the 1973 military coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, Przeworski dedicated his intellectual pursuits to understanding this troubling trend.Initially, scholars posited that democracies were increasingly consolidated after encountering several successful transitions of power and reaching a certain level of economic stability. The belief was that, as societies became accustomed to regular, free elections, the resort to autocratic measures would appear too costly and unattractive.However, the past decade has shown this theory to be overly simplistic. For instance, the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol marked a significant deviation from the country’s longstanding tradition of peaceful power transitions. Similarly, Brazil experienced chaos when supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro violently protested against the incoming administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.The rise of far-right parties in Western Europe, reflecting ideologies reminiscent of Trumpism in the U.S., further highlights a global pattern where democratic norms are increasingly challenged. Reports of threats against institutions, legal frameworks, and electoral processes expose vulnerabilities that democracies must confront in an era where the power dynamics are shifting.As Przeworski reflects, understanding the interplay of social, economic, and political factors in maintaining democratic integrity is paramount. The survival of democracy, it appears, is no longer a foregone conclusion but a constant battle against those who would exploit its principles for personal gain.
