Measuring Democratic Backsliding

• Published in: PS, political science & politics Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 149 - 161
• Main Authors: Little, Andrew T., Meng, Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.04.2024
• Subjects: Annual Reports; Autocracy; Comment and Controversy; Comment and Controversy: Special Issue on Democratic Backsliding; Democracy; Elections; Evidence; Exhibits; Freedom; Freedom of the press; Governance; Leaders; Political leadership; Term limitations; Trends

Despite the general narrative that the world is in a period of democratic decline, there have been surprisingly few empirical studies that assess whether this is systematically true. Most existing studies of global backsliding are based largely if not entirely on subjective indicators that rely on e...