How tools of authoritarian stability can help us in understanding democratic backsliding

This paper examines how authoritarian governments maintain power and how their strategies help explain the phenomenon of democratic backsliding in contemporary political systems. It argues that democratic erosion is rarely abrupt and instead unfolds gradually through institutional weakening, elite manipulation, and public disillusionment. Drawing on comparative political theory, the study introduces the concept of “authoritarian stability” and explains how its three pillars—legitimation, repression, and co-optation—enable regimes to consolidate control while maintaining an appearance of democratic legitimacy.

Using case studies of Poland and Hungary, the paper demonstrates how elected governments have systematically weakened democratic institutions such as courts, media, and opposition parties. Through legitimation, leaders frame their authority as necessary or morally justified; through repression, they restrict dissent using legal, coercive, or surveillance-based mechanisms; and through co-optation, they absorb elites and opposition figures into the ruling structure to neutralize resistance. These strategies are shown to work most effectively when applied gradually, making democratic erosion difficult to detect in its early stages.

The study also situates authoritarian stability within broader theoretical debates on democratic backsliding, including agentic, cultural, institutional, and political economy explanations. By integrating these theories, the paper highlights how economic dissatisfaction, elite behavior, and institutional design interact to weaken democratic norms. Overall, the research argues that understanding authoritarian tools is essential for recognizing early warning signs of democratic decline and for developing strategies to protect democratic institutions before erosion becomes irreversible.