Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"In our collective imagination, the end of a democracy comes about through a high profile singular moment, like a military coup, or even a civil war. In reality, modern democracies die slowly.

"The phenomenon is called 'democratic backsliding.' It's a process by which the incumbent party successfully consolidates power through intentional actions often legitimated within democratic institutions. These efforts curtail basic rights like voting, and attack free speech, the right to assemble, and free press. The goal is to substantially undermine opposition so the regime can maintain power. Elections still happen, but the party in power is incredibly difficult to defeat as they control the rules of engagement. A thin veneer of democratic legitimacy remains, but the result is what political scientists call an illiberal democracy or competitive authoritarianism."

-- Oren Jacobson, "How Modern Democracies Die: Is America Next?", 2020-09-24