Populism and Democratic Backsliding

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Annotated Bibliography: Populism and Democratic Backsliding
Anna Vachudova, Milada. "Ethnopopulism and Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe." East European Politics vol. 36, no. 3, 2020, pp.318-340: In the article, the author explores the rising use of ethnopopulism as a means of amassing power. To this end, the author explores how the rise in ethnopopulism has contributed to erosion of liberal democracy. The article posits that the factors that play a key role in the strengthening of liberal democracy within a country facilitate the degradation of democracy when they are misused by ethnopopulist leaders. The ideas expressed in the article are based on the analysis of democratic backsliding in Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary.
The article will be used to examine how populist leaders manipulate the existing liberal democracies resulting in democratic backsliding. My thesis focuses on arguing that populism is one of the most prominent political strategy whose rise is effectively contributing towards democratic backsliding. Ethnopopulism is increasingly becoming one of the most prominent strategies used by politicians to concentrate their powers. Thus, the article will be of utility to advancing my argument. I chose the article because it is recent and has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Bauer, Michael and Stefan Becker. "Democratic Backsliding, Populism, and Public Administration." Perspectives on Public Management and Governance vol. 3, no.1, 2020, pp. 19-31: In the article, the authors explore the role of institutions in encouraging democratic backsliding in countries. To this end, the authors reckon that the election of populist public administration into office is an essential contributor to democratic backsliding. The policies pursued by populist public administration in most cases tends toward the erosion of policymaking and democracy. Upon assuming power, populist public administration spend significant amount of time reforming, sabotaging, dismantling, and capturing the established state bureaucracy.
The source will inform the research paper by supporting the argument that the rise of populism is increasing becoming a threat to established democracies. To this end, the article provides information on the mechanisms through which populist public administration trend towards democratic backsliding. I chose the article as it is published in a reputable journal. The authors of the articles are also reputable scholars who work for German University of Administrative Sciences.
Cianetti, Licia, and Seán Hanley. "The End of the Backsliding Paradigm." Journal of Democracy vol. 32, no.1, 2021, pp. 66-80. The article points out that there is a need for scholars to be more specific when using the concept of democratic backsliding to various changes in democracies across the world. Authors in the article posit that a focus on democratic backsliding as a paradigm ignores the complexity that exists in many troubled democracies as it provides a ‘one-size fits all’ for describing troubled democracies. Rather, the article suggests that a broader focus that also assesses immediate patterns should be ap...