The Rise of Populism and the Erosion of Democratic institutions: Evidence from Emerging Democracies

Abstract

This study explores how the rise of populism has contributed to the decline of democratic institutions in emerging democracies. Populism has been a major political trend in recent decades in Latin America, South Asia, Eastern Europe, and some African and Southeast Asian countries, and is frequently perceived as a reaction to economic inequality, political corruption, poor governance, and the erosion of citizens' faith in old political elites. In institutional environments marked by fragility and weak accountability, populism is a factor that helps to consolidate democratic backsliding and the progressive erosion of liberal democratic values, this research suggests. The study utilizes a qualitative and comparative research design and secondary data sources such as academic literature, Freedom House reports, V-Dem dataset and World Bank governance indicators. Three of the countries examined (India, Brazil, Turkey) are also included in a multiple case study analysis, which covers a diverse range of regional and institutional settings within emerging democracies, as well as Hungary, the Philippines, and Pakistan. The analysis relies on a theoretical framework that integrates the Populism Theory, Democratic Backsliding Theory, Institutionalism, and Elite Theory for understanding how the mobilization of Populism translates socio-economic grievances into political power and then into the erosion of institutions. The results show that populism regularly harms democracy in five ways: the extension of executive power, the restriction of judicial powers, the control of media, electoral manipulation and the tightening of civil liberties. Despite the variety of forms democratic erosion takes, the following trends are generally observed: Populist leaders consolidate power, reduce institutional constraints, and extremize political systems. The study also shows that socio-economic inequality, political corruption, cultural polarization, and dynamics of digital media are the enabling factors for the populist success. The study finds that the roots of populism are not inherently anti-democratic, but rather it becomes a key force of democratic erosion when it is part of low-quality institutional contexts. To reduce the long-term potential of democratic backsliding in emerging democracies, therefore, it is crucial to build democratic institutions, improve accountability mechanisms, safeguard media freedom and tackle socio-economic inequalities.