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Democracies Are Not ‘Backsliding’

Jan-Werner Mueller
29 September 2023clock5 Minute Read
Blazing a trail: Viktor Orbán's Hungary has become synonymous with the term 'democratic backsliding'

Blazing a trail: Viktor Orbán's Hungary has become synonymous with the term 'democratic backsliding'. Image: Imago / Alamy

With a democratic recession underway in many countries, one now commonly hears talk of democratic ‘backsliding’ on a global scale. But not only is that term misleading; it also breeds fatalism, diverting our attention from potential paths out of the new authoritarianism.

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Jan-Werner Mueller

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