Los regresores : Líderes que erosionan sus propias democracias

Democracy is undergoing a wave of erosion worldwide. Since the beginning of the 21st century, some 20 elected leaders have attacked their countries' democratic institutions, violated political norms, expanded their own powers, and often tried to remain in office beyond their terms. *The Regressors* offers the first comprehensive account of this wave. Drawing on extensive original research, Susan C. Stokes shows that rising wage inequality and the legacy of late 20th-century globalization have left some countries particularly susceptible to the process of regression toward autocracy. Segments of the electorate left behind have turned to right-wing ethnonationalist leaders in countries such as the United States, India, and Brazil, and to left-wing populist leaders in countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, and South Africa. Unlike military leaders, who eliminate democracies abruptly through coups, elected leaders who erode them gradually must maintain a certain degree of social support. They achieve this by fostering polarization among citizens and using vile rhetoric directed against their democracies, claiming that the institutions they attack are corrupt and incompetent, and that they must be dismantled and replaced by others under the control of the executive branch. These proponents of democratic backsliding describe how to halt this erosion from within journalism, the judiciary, NGOs, and the opposition, and how, as voters, we can achieve this through political engagement and the power of the ballot box.