Opposition Strategies amid Democratic Backsliding: A Cross-Regional Perspective

Abstract

Why do some democracies remain resilient while others backslide? The study of democratic backsliding has mostly focused on what incumbents do to remain in or consolidate power (Bermeo 2016; Haggard and Kaufman 2021), and how certain institutions are more effective in sanctioning autocrats (Boese et al. 2021; Laebens and Lührmann 2021). Recently, however, scholars have started examining how the strategies adopted by opposition groups might affect the success or failure of backsliding (Gamboa 2022; Cleary and Öztürk 2022; Somer et al. 2021; Tomini et al. 2023). The role of the opposition in the transition to democracy and the importance of its loyalty to the democratic regime (O’Donnell and Schmitter, 1986; Huntington 1991; Przeworski 1991; Jung and Shapiro 1996) was particularly studied after the ‘third wave of democratization’ but what role can the opposition play to prevent democratic backsliding driven by the incumbent? This is particularly relevant in cases where an authoritarian (or would be authoritarian) incumbent is in office, with democratic forces in the opposition. This panel builds on this emerging literature by examining three main questions from a cross-regional perspective: first, what are the various strategies opposition groups adopt during autocratization episodes?; second, why do opposition groups choose some strategies over others?; and third, what is the effect of opposition groups’ strategies on backsliding? The panel is open to various methodological perspectives, be it qualitative or quantitative, preferably from a comparative, cross-regional perspective.

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