The Mechanisms of Democratic Backsliding

In recent decades, we have witnessed the development of a new model of autocratization: democratic backsliding, which refers to the gradual erosion of liberal-democratic institutions carried out by elected governments through legal mechanisms. The study of the causes of this phenomenon has been widely addressed in academic literature, highlighting, among other factors, political polarization, institutional checks and balances, political culture, economic inequality, and populism. In contrast, the analysis of the mechanisms through which authoritarian leaders implement their agendas and consolidate their power has received less attention. How do elected governments dismantle liberal democratic institutions from within the system itself? In this article, I argue that the concentration of political power in democratic backsliding processes occurs through two mechanisms: the organizational expansion of the executive and the exclusion of competition. These mechanisms represent two contradictory yet complementary movements—of expansion and contraction of the public sphere—that aim to project the government’s influence both within the state and in the realm of civil society. To illustrate this conceptual framework, I analyze the cases of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, under whose leadership both Central American countries have transitioned into authoritarianism.