S3DS 2024 Democratic Backsliding

Tuesday 10        Panel 1                                                   

Theorising Democratic Progress and Regressions
Prof. Fabio Wolkenstein University of Vienna, Austria
moderated by Dr. Tom Mccrae Hunter  University of Zurich, Switzerland

University of Fribourg - Site Pérolles, PER 21 B130

Illiberal subversions of democracy are typically framed with the term ‘democratic backsliding’, which denotes a regression behind an already-achieved level of democratisation. When using the language of ‘backsliding’, one must logically presuppose that ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ stages of democratic development can robustly be identified. Problematising this presupposition, this session invites reflection on the conceptual foundations of the backsliding debate. It explores popular developmental narratives about democracy in the social sciences and addresses difficult questions such as whether it is plausible to use one set of normative standards to evaluate the quality of democracy across time and space.

Workshop

Inês Romão Duarte European University Institute - Institutional Effects of Democratic Erosion in the European Union

(Sevanna Poghosyan University of Tartu - International Legal Responses to Democratic Backsliding: Safeguarding Democratic Governance through International Law)

Giada D’Andrea University of Surrey - The carrot or the stick? Comparing the effectiveness of EU safeguard mechanisms against democratic backsliding in Poland and Hungary

Muhammad Farooq Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - Determinants of Conceptions of Democracy in Democratic and Non-Democratic Countries

City Tour* start point Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas

Thursday 12       Panel 3                                                   

Citizens and Democratic Backsliding
Prof. Natasha Wunsch University of Fribourg, Switzerland
moderated by Dr. Andreas Juon ETH Zurich, Switzerland

University of Fribourg - Site Pérolles, PER 21 B130

Why do citizens tolerate democratic backsliding? This session addresses the role of ordinary citizens in processes of democratic backsliding. It covers dynamics of partisan and affective polarisation, the principal trade-offs citizens engage in when weighing whether to overlook democratic transgressions by elected leaders, and discusses how citizens’ commitment to liberal democratic norms shapes their evaluations of competing candidates for political office.

Workshop

Alejandro Esteso Pérez University of Graz - God Save the Mayor: local illiberal structures and practices in Serbia

Mattia Bottino University of Bologna - Council democracy and participatory policymaking in South America. An exploratory research on the intersection among participation, self-management, and federalism in Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela

Gizem Günaydın University of Marmara - Citizens Initiative in Comparative Constitutional Law

Lovisa Marie Mundschenk University of Zurich - Youth Climate Policy Preferences and Democracy. How Fridays for Future Influenced Evaluations of Democracy in Germany 

Friday 13           Panel 4                                                   

Political Psychology and Democracy
Prof. Honorata Mazepus University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
moderated by Dr. Dani Sandu University of Fribourg, Switzerland

University of Fribourg - Site Miséricorde MIS 10 3.16

In this session we will focus on the role of citizens’ support in democratic backsliding. A growing body of studies in political science shows that mechanisms such as coalitional psychology (e.g., “my party bias”, “winner-loser gap”) and motivated reasoning might steer us away from liberal democracy. In addition, citizens might trade-off democratic values for specific policy gains. At the same time, however, we have evidence that individuals like fair procedures and punishment of rule-violators – preferences that should make democracy desirable. In this session we will discuss recent studies (observational and experimental) to better understand individual drivers of support for democracy.

Workshop

Egor  Bronnikov Maastricht University - (De)Motivating Sentiments: The Effects of Induced Emotions on Asymmetric Belief Updating

Jule Kegel University of Vienna - The effect of everyday social contact with politicians on attitudes towards representative democracy

Henri Koblischke Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf - Shaky Ground or Stable Foundation? Exploring the Legitimatory Basis of EU Sanctions Against Democratic Backsliders 

Gladys  Konadu University of Strathclyde - Diverse Paths to Participation: Democratic Conceptions and Political Behaviour in Ghana

Closing Aperitif @Chapelle Hall MIS

The one-hour slot for each presenter in the workshop sessions is divided into a 20-minute presentation, 10 minutes of formal discussion, 25 minutes of general discussion, and a 5-minute break.