Unravelling democratic erosion: who drives the slow death of democracy, and how?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence points to democratic erosion as dominant pattern in Post-Cold War cases. The debate about democratic erosion so far remains fragmented due to the proliferation of labels, and the lack of conceptualization and a shared definition. This paper presents a concept of democratic erosion as a route of “slow death” of democracy developing three definatory features: agency, opportunity and sequencing. Regarding the drivers of this change, the argument presented here is actor-centered, conceiving democratic erosion as a process shaped by the intentionality and systematic actions of an erosion agent. In view of the mechanism, the article introduces sequencing as specific logic of action that is able to explain the incremental dismantling. This logic of action is derived inductively from the Venezuelan case and illustrates the pattern of active and intentional change of rules realized in sequenced hollowing out of democratic structures, processes, norms, and principles. Five developed sequences serve as framework for the analysis of democratic erosion.