Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point

Many researchers and policymakers believed that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 represented the end of authoritarianism. They argued that democracy and global freedom would replace authoritarianism as the preferred system of government. This belief has not come to fruition. Freedom House, a nonprofit organization which tracks global freedom, found that global freedom declined for the 17th consecutive year in 2023 (“Key Findings.” Freedom House). In fact, the V-Dem Institute, which studies the qualities of government, found that for the first time in two decades there are currently more dictatorships than liberal democracies (“Democracy Reports.” V-Dem). Over 70% of the world’s population lives under an authoritarian regime.

While democratic backsliding has come to define global politics, there is little scholarly consensus on the drivers of this phenomenon. Suggested drivers do not seem to hold across time and space. There appears to be variation across regions as well, depending on the strength of the democratic institutions. Despite this complex picture, there are important features of the global rise of anti-democratic forces around the world. One is the infringement upon freedom of expression. Journalists around the world, including in countries still considered to be democratic, face increasing attacks from public figures and their supporters and fewer legal protections. During 2022, over 150 countries experienced increasing pressure on media freedom. Similar to media freedom, declines in personal expression have also occurred. Invasions of privacy, intimidation, and harassment are on the rise.

Political leaders also play a key role in democratic backsliding. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace identifies three forms of backsliding efforts (Carothers, Thomas, and Benjamin Press. “Understanding and Responding to Global Democratic Backsliding.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 20 Oct. 2022). Grievance-fueled illiberalism represents the first: Political leaders use a grievance to convince supporters that dismantling democratic institutions and norms is the only way to address the grievance. Opportunistic authoritarianism is the second form: Political leaders come to power through democratic processes but then turn against democracy to retain political power. The final form is entrenched-interest revanchism. Democratization can displace entrenched interest groups, such as the military. These groups use anti-democratic forces to regain their political power.

Other important features include the degradation of free and fair elections, the weakening or undue use of the rule of law (e.g., the independence of a judiciary system is threatened), the consolidation and expansion of executive power, and the over-emphasis on national security in the face of perceived enemies or terrorism. As Levitsky and Ziblatt note, democratic backsliding occurs slowly.

Democratic backsliding has occurred in every region around the world. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government coalition have tried to overhaul the judicial system to protect the prime minister from corruption charges. In Peru, Congress has removed three presidents in the span of four years (2018-2022) by using a “moral incapacity” clause in the Peruvian Constitution which was ill-defined. They used this clause to remove presidents based on anything they deemed objectionable. In Thailand, military leaders use counter-majority institutions in parliament to win power even when they lose elections. In Tyranny of the Minority, Levitsky and Ziblatt argue that democratic backsliding is now also affecting the USA.