Statistics from Freedom House show that 2018 is the thirteenth consecutive year with democratic decline. This paper examines underlying causes to this democratic decline. This is done through literature review of current research in the field of democracy development. By using descriptive idea analysis of selected research literature, the paper aims to clarify the current debate on the challenges of democracy. The study somewhat supports that long-term liberal democracy creates conditions that potentially cause its own retreat. This is because long-term liberal democracy provides peace and growth, which is unequally distributed in society and leads to increased social divisions. As a result, large groups of people no longer feel included in society, which in turn will pave the way for populist movements and potential autocratic leaders. The study also somewhat supports that there has been a weakening in the functioning of the democratic institutions to act as gatekeepers, keeping potential autocrats out of power. Increased democracy and transparency in the democratic processes has made it easier for potential autocrats to come to power. All in all, there is some support for the hypothesis of the essay: The more democracy the greater the risk that the democratic system will weaken.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-90901 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Andersson, Mikael |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för statsvetenskap (ST) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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