Subnational Threats to Democracy: Decentralized Power, Erosion, and Resistance
Saturday, September 5, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
2026 APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition — Boston, MA | Register here
Co-sponsored by Division 28: Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
In-person | Created Panel
Participants:
- (Chair) Mikhail G. Filippov, SUNY, Binghamton
Session Description:
As democratic erosion percolates through political systems, subnational institutions become both targets of encroachment and sources of resilience. This panel examines how democracy is threatened and defended below the national level using new measurement strategies and comparative evidence from federal political systems. The papers analyze how executives manipulate subnational autonomy, how partisan alignment and fiscal dependence shape democratic vulnerability, and how subnational offices can accelerate or mitigate democratic backsliding. Together, the panel advances a comparative, subnational perspective on democratic decline.
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