Legal-Administrative Responses and Democratic Deconsolidation

Abstract

We deepen our understanding of democratic deconsolidation by understanding the legal-administrative responses to a security crisis. We expand prior “democratic breakdown” studies through a legal-administrative review of three countries which have experienced a security crisis: Peru, South Africa, and the United States. Using Freedom House and Polity IV scores, we discuss the initial crisis and the state’s legal-administrative responses. Different state responses offer a unique micro-political and administrative perspective on when, where, and why deconsolidation may or may not occur.