Tracking Polarizing Political Rhetoric in Democratic Backsliding and Recovery

• In Event: Innovative Approaches to Studying Democratic Backsliding and Resilience

Abstract

Based on 15 prominent cases that have experienced significant or halted democratic backsliding in recent years, this paper tracks the role of polarizing rhetoric in autocratic movements to help uncover patterns concurrent with significant moments of democratic backsliding. We then analyze the effectiveness of actors engaging in depolarizing and/or democratic rhetoric in response. Data were collected through scrapping key arenas of political competition and discourse including political social media accounts, public statement by leading political figures, party manifestos and speeches, and local media. The paper connects the type and nature of polarization language to outcomes of democratic backsliding episodes. It demonstrates how depolarizing strategies and events may be effective in slowing and halting democratic backsliding.

Authors

• Jeremy Martin Ladd, Quinnipiac University

• Paul Friesen, Cornell University