Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/226173 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Democratization [ISSN:] 1743-890X [Volume:] 28 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Taylor & Francis [Place:] London [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 43-62
Publisher: 
Taylor & Francis, London
Abstract: 
Democratic regression has become a worrying phenomenon in the last years. Social science has provided a variety of explanations why democratic regimes have lost democratic regime quality. Against this backdrop, I take stock of the recent literature by putting forward two important analytical distinctions that we should make more explicit. First, I propose to classify our current explanations along the source where the cause for the malaise originated. By doing so, I introduce a distinction between erosion and decay type of arguments. While the former is a gradual process that is caused exogenously – like wind or water hitting a stone – the latter is caused endogenously – like the half-life in nuclear decay processes. Second, I draw a distinction between the endogenous or exogenous roots of the cause and the subsequent causal mechanism that connects the cause with the outcome. I outline the need for dissecting a causal mechanism into its constitutive components and highlight its underlying dimensions of temporality. Throughout the article, I use empirical case material as well as relevant secondary literature to illustrate these points.
Subjects: 
democratic regression
institutional change
erosion
decay
Asia
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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