Mechanisms of Democratic Backsliding
Saturday, September 5, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
2026 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Boston, MA | Register here
In-person | Full Paper Panel
Participants:
- (Chair) Osnat Akirav, Western Galilee College
Session Description:
This session explores the complex nature of democratic backsliding and the erosion of parliamentary systems. Rather than viewing these phenomena as simple political decay, we analyze them as structured processes involving radical policy changes and shifts in ideas. The participating scholars draw on diverse geographical contexts, including Israel, the United States, and the European Parliament, to examine how political actors employ illiberal rhetoric and populist frameworks to challenge democratic norms. The session is organized around several key analytical dimensions: The Ideational and Strategic Process: Research investigates how “policy entrepreneurs” strategically leverage perceived failures to create a “Populist Universe,” utilizing identity issues to position democratic gatekeepers as obstacles to the “will of the people.” The Role of Rhetoric in Governance: Presenters analyze the use of illiberal narratives in legislative speeches, exploring whether the responsibilities of governance constrain or moderate such rhetoric in both national and supranational contexts. Systemic Institutional Erosion: We introduce the concept of Parliamentary Democratic Erosion (PDE), highlighting a systemic shift that undermines a parliament’s core functions of legislation, oversight, and representation. Case Studies in Radicalization: A specific focus is placed on the rise of “New Messianic Nationalist Populism” (NMNP) in Israel, demonstrating how radical actors employ divisive rhetoric and legislative initiatives during crises to promote significant regime transformation. By combining AI-based classification of millions of speeches with qualitative text analysis and systemic modeling, this session provides a comprehensive examination of how modern democracies are being reshaped from within.