Political Change and Democratisation in Times of Crisis - A Section by International Association for Political Science Students

Political Change and Democratisation in Times of Crisis - A Section by International Association for Political Science Students Democratisation consists of a set of non-linear sub-processes – in which we can include transition, consolidation, and deepening of democracy – that entails some degree of uncertainty. One consequence of this is that democratisation can lead to a variety of outcomes including not only liberal-democratic regimes, but also sub-types of democracy, such as electoral democracies, sub-types of hybrid forms, and even overtly authoritarian regimes. Since democratisation is an open process, and there is no single model of it, the examination of its orientation must be constantly renewed through systematic reflection on the main challenges that its consolidation or deepening face in real cases (a task towards which the study of the quality of democracy has been oriented), as well as through its always never-ending theoretical-methodological debates. Despite the consolidation of the rules of the democratic game in most countries, major problems such as inequality, poverty and insecurity, among others, persist, mainly in less developed countries. These challenges, associated with insufficient government responsibility, influence the course of democratisation processes. The discussion on the challenges of democracy takes on greater relevance at a time when the world is experiencing political and social inflections fostered by the Covid-19 pandemic. If anything has come to aggravate the Covid-19 crisis, it is that attribute that philosophy assigns to post-modernity: uncertainty. In this context, democracy seems to be threatened by the resurgence of authoritarian expressions, by the deep political and social polarisation promoted by both right and left, by the crisis of representation and trust towards liberal institutions and traditional intermediation mechanisms such as political parties, and even by forms of social violence with unclear political objectives. Not only an explanation of these phenomena, but also an understanding of their impact on the direction of political change is necessary. This section aims to shed light on the advances and regressions in the process of democratisation worldwide, while reopening the debate around key theoretical and methodological discussions for the analysis, conceptualisation and measurement of democracy. Some questions to be addressed are: What conditions or variables determine the progress and regression in the democratisation process experienced by different countries? What is the best methodological strategy for assessing democratic performance? What are the most relevant current theoretical and methodological discussions on the concept of democracy? What kind of institutional and behavioural logics will be triggered by the Covid 19 crisis and what will its impact on the processes of democratisation be? What is the impact of populisms on the process of democratisation in terms of consolidation or democratic crisis? Is there a new wave of authoritarian regressions or is this simply a hiatus in the democratisation process?