Unintentional Democratic Backsliders. “Evil Always Wins Through the Strength of its Splendid Dupes”

Abstract

Abstract This, mainly conceptual, paper concerns the democratic backsliding process, focusing on specific and understudied actors whose actions (or non-actions) unintentionally contribute to the undertakings of autocrats or “would-be autocrats,” instead of concentrating on often analysed incumbents. The authors propose in this regard a concept of “unintentional backsliders,” including its definition, typology, and model of mapping actors who, due to recklessness or negligence, unintentionally support democratic backsliding. The spectrum of such backsliders has been additionally outlined in the case of Poland, the fastest de-democratising country recently — in order to demonstrate that the proposed conceptual framework can be translated into a political reality and has a potential to be applied in empirical studies.