Safeguards and Defenders – The Role of Civil Society and Rule of Law in Re-democratisation

Under which conditions are the Rule of Law and Civil Society enabling/contributing to re-democratisation? Relevant indices show a global trend of democratic decline in recent decades and scholarship describes the causes and processes of de-democratisation, as a gradual development driven by elected state representatives. In some of the countries democracy has been restored, yet scholarship on such processes of re-democratisation remains sparse. We know relatively little about the actors and mechanisms at play in the defense and rebuilding of democracy. Shedding light onto the conundrum, this study combines quantitative and qualitative evidence by providing global insights into the quality of democracy, civic space and the rule of law. These findings are further scrutinised by qualitative in-depth case studies. This allows us to explore the (in)formal institutional safeguards of democracies, as well as the ways in which pro-democracy actors can counter stressors of democracy and initiate or influence re-democratisation. By focusing on Re-democratisation based on large-N evidence, which is complemented by a comparative case study, this project sets itself apart from others.