The Sequence of Backsliding and the Rise of the Autocrats

Understanding the sequence of democratic backsliding leading to the rise of autocrats is closely linked to understanding the nature and types of democratic breakdowns. The trends in democratic backsliding suggest that the nature of the backsliding process is incremental and open-ended. This chapter offers a new theoretical framework with two aspects—institutional and ideological—to understand the process, especially the sequence which leads to the rise of an autocrat. The new approach is described as an “institutional-ideological approach”.