David Tibaquira
The backsliding of a democracy toward authoritarianism is a growing phenomenon across the world. Given that an authoritarian reversal signals the loss of the participatory and deliberative benefits of democracy, it is crucial to understand the conditions where citizens dissent. I use the term democratic stock throughout the paper as a means of showing the reader which countries do or do not have a history with democracy. Unlike recent studies stressing deliberate disengagement, I argue that democratic stock is an important predictor of political participation during a democratic backslide.
Comments
Have other people looked at “democratic stock” before? You make a convincing argument that this is an important metric to look at. —Rob Reichle
Certainly, the idea that the longer a country is democratic the more resistant it is to backsliding is not new. However, this is the first time it has been used as an explanation for popular dissent in countries that are undergoing democratic backsliding. —David Tibaquira
Thanks, Rob! Yes, The idea of democratic stock builds of Professor John Gerring’s 2005 World Politics paper: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/democracy-and-economic-growth-a-historical-perspective/1BD38458A835E7F34F9A25191B68ECC7 —Mike Denly