The Myth of Democratic Resillience

Abstract

In light of the two-decade-long global democratic recession, which continues to deepen, scholars of democracy along with policymakers and activists have become increasingly focused on the need to build democratic resilience. Following the work of political scientist Wolfgang Merkel, we now commonly understand democratic resilience as having two critical components: first, the ability of a political system to withstand authoritarian threats; and second, the capacity of that system to adapt and become both more durable and more democratic. The idea underpinning this framing is that true resilience is about more than simply preventing authoritarian collapse. It also involves the capacity in the aftermath of an authoritarian turn not just to bounce back but to fortify the political system on the basis of core democratic principles—essentially futureproofing democracy.