How Democracies Die, Fast and Slow
This lecture was delivered at Radboud University in the Netherlands on November 1st, 2022. It includes a follow-up conversation with the well-known political scientist Professor Carolien van Ham, founder and director of Radboud’s new Sustainable Democracy Initiative.
Democracies around the world are becoming more and more vulnerable. While some of these democracies are subject to violent revolutions or coup d’états, there are also worrying signs of the slow deterioration of democracy. Why is it that democracies around the world are threatened by both democrats and anti-democrats? And how can we understand the various ways democracy comes to its end?
Democratieën over de hele wereld worden met de dag kwetsbaarder. Terwijl sommige ten prooi vallen aan gewelddadige revoluties of staatsgrepen, zijn er ook zorgwekkende situaties van langzame aftakeling van democratie. Waarom worden democratieën over de hele wereld bedreigd door zowel democraten als anti-democraten? Hoe komen democratieën aan hun einde?
Available as well as a podcast:
See also an early written version of one of the main ideas at: ‘How does a democracy die/’ The Indian Express (July 31, 2021) at: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/elected-governments-death-of-democracy-civil-unrest-7431013/