Citizens, Conspiracies, & Consent: The Psychology Behind Democratic Backsliding

• In Event: Lightning Talk: Polarization, Democratic Backsliding, and the Rise of Populist lLaders

Brief Overview

This paper examines the behavioral dimension of democratic backsliding by analyzing how elite-driven misinformation erodes electoral legitimacy and mobilizes citizen complicity.

Author

• Neha Ahmed, Arizona State University, Tempe