Since the end of the Cold War, democracies have tended to collapse in the hands of winners who initially come to power through free and fair elections rather than losers who stage coups or insurgencies. The recent electoral resurgence of populism has fueled autocratic tendencies in many cases, even in wealthy democracies long thought to be unassailable. Indeed, the election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term has undoubtedly demonstrated that even the world's oldest democracy is not immune to a populist autocratization trend. Relying on their successive electoral victories, populist strongmen have captured state institutions and tilted the playing field to undermine some of the most successful cases of third-wave democratization, including Turkey, Hungary, and the Philippines. Despite this alarming trend, this global wave of populism has not led to the widespread collapse of democracies. Although some charismatic leaders like Erdoğan, Orban, and Chavez succeeded in destroying domestic democracies, others have failed to consolidate their authority, have been constrained by institutional checks and balances, and some have even been defeated at the polls. At the same time, other cases, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, with historically poor democratic records, managed to avoid this populist trend, only to experience democratic erosion due to collusion between political elites.
Taking stock of these significant trends, this roundtable will explore how, why, and to what extent populist autocratization is occurring around the globe. Is populist autocratization a global phenomenon? Are there outlier regions? What factors have fueled the populist challenge to contemporary democracies? How serious is the populist threat to contemporary democracies? What strategies of democratic resistance have proved effective against authoritarian populists? What impact will Trump's election have on these global autocratization trends? In addressing these questions, panelists will identify common patterns and stark contrasts between cases around the globe.
