Author Meets Critics: Why Do Citizens Tolerate Democratic Transgressions?

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Session Description

Citizen tolerance towards democratic transgressions by elected leaders poses an enduring puzzle for democracy scholars. Departing from the monograph "Democratic Commitment: Why Citizens Tolerate Democratic Backsliding" (Oxford University Press, Natasha Wunsch) that posits heterogeneity in citizens' understandings of democracy as on of the key reasons they overlook or trade off elites' respect for democratic norms against alternative benefits, this Author Meets Critics round table brings together colleagues who have proposed different explanations of citizens' role in backsliding processes to discuss their findings and future research avenues in light of the ongoing threats to liberal democracy.

Sub Unit

• Division 44: Democracy and Autocracy

Chair

• Amel F. Ahmed University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Presenters

• Natasha Wunsch ETH Zurich

• Svend-Erik Skaaning Aarhus University

• Guy Grossman University of Pennsylvania

• Jennifer McCoy Georgia State University

• R. Daniel Kelemen Georgetown University