Bureaucratic Responses to Democratic Erosion

Abstract

This panel examines how core bureaucratic actors respond to populist pressure and democratic erosion at the national level. The contributions analyse patterns of compliance, dissent, resistance, and exit among civil servants and legal professionals, drawing on surveys, experiments, and mixed-methods evidence. Together, the papers illuminate the micro-foundations of bureaucratic agency in contexts of political polarisation and democratic stress.

Title	Details
Government Lawyers’ Role Perceptions and Response to Patronage	View Paper Details
Political Polarization and Bureaucratic Dissent: Survey Evidence from the Netherlands	View Paper Details
Does Bureaucracy Strike Back? How Signals from Bureaucratic Managers Influence Civil Servant’s Reactions to Democratic Backsliding	View Paper Details
Are Civil Servants Guardians of Liberal Democracy? Attitudinal Evidence from Citizens, Politicians, and Civil Servants	View Paper Details
Bureaucratic Responses to Populist Local Leadership: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Design	View Paper Details