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De-democratization poses a serious threat to the hard-won democracies of the 20th century. As democracies suffer from widespread public frustration with existing governance structures and a pervasive loss of trust in the prospect of a better future, authoritarian regimes emerge in many societies as a last resort by manipulating people’s fears, needs, and desires. Authoritarian regimes seek to polarize the society in order to consolidate their popular support, which is diminishing due to their failure to fulfill of their unrealistic, populist promises. Government elites are frequently benefiting from maintaining high levels of polarization to solidify their electoral support and preserve bloc loyalty amid economic or political crises.
While polarization has long existed among ideological, religious, ethnic, class based, and regional groups, recent scholarship emphasizes the emergence of affective polarization. Having been based on these ordinary differences, affective polarization increasingly fosters mutually antagonistic political opponents perceived as existential threats to the nation, state, or way of life. This transformation has deepened societal fragmentation and social distance, and engendered tolerance for undemocratic governmental practices and hence de-democratization.
In this context, polarization and de-democratization are two interrelated and mutually reinforcing phenomena. This panel aims to explore the distinctive features of de-democratization, polarization, and the correlation between them in particular cases, and compare them with one another. Contemporary de-democratization often preserves formal democratic institutions while gradually undermining liberal-democratic norms, judicial independence, media pluralism, and political competition. On the other hand, polarization could be symmetrical or asymmetrical, and based on differing qualities such as ideology, identity, culture, class, or region. Additionally, different nexuses such as psychological, instrumental, and elite-driven mechanisms are functioning between polarization and de-democratization.
In a nutshell, polarization operates both as a de-democratizing societal condition and a political strategy of authoritarian regimes. This panel, therefore, aims to raise awareness about polarization and de-democratization, and contribute to the understanding of contemporary challenges confronting democracies worldwide.