The Signs of Deconsolidation

Trust, distrust, and the end of politics-as-we-knew-it: the mood of the nation prior to election 2017

“…Any suggestion that democracy in New Zealand is fundamentally under threat due to public disaffection is not really supportable, however. The World Values Survey data presented by Foa and Mounk (2017) shows that younger New Zealanders were much less likely than their elders to rate it 'essential' (a rating of 10 on a 10-point scale) to 'live in a country that is governed democratically'. But this age-effect may be more about maturation, and may not represent a long-term trend of 'democratic deconsolidation'.…”

“…The question did not ask about living in the country that one calls home. Moreover, between Wave 3 (1995-1997 and Wave 6 (2010-2014) of the survey, in which respondents were asked whether 'having a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections' would be a 'fairly good' or 'very good' way to 'run this country', the New Zealand response-rate grows only minimally, remaining around the 20% level (Foa and Mounk 2017). The two main case-studies of 'deconsolidation' that Foa and Mounk focus on are Venezuela and Poland, which do not compare well at all with New Zealand.…”

Your Comments Here: Contextualizing Technologies, Seeking Records and Supporting Transparency for Citizen Engagement

“…The promise is that these initiatives will create stronger links between citizens and governments, bolster trust in government, and ensure that decisions and services adequately reflect citizen needs, from local issues to national matters (Nabatchi, 2012). In democratic countries, confidence in governments and investment in traditional forms of democratic engagement are in decline (Foa & Mounk, 2017). The ideal presented by citizen engagement is that focused initiatives, particularly when combined with widely available digital platforms, may invigorate citizen relationships with governments.…”

The Democratic Crisis and the Knowledge Problem

“…However, recent events suggest that this may no longer be the case. Indeed, an increasing number of scholars observe an unprecedented phenomenon of democratic backsliding in the world, qualified by Foa and Mounk () as a “democratic deconsolidation.” While most scholars are starting to interpret the recent backsliding as a sign of dissatisfaction with particular governments or as a temporal or geographic aberration, the term “democratic consolidation” refers to a deep and sustained rejection of the democratic form of government, beginning to challenge the stability of seemingly consolidated democracies. This deconsolidation has several concrete symptoms.…”

“…A last symptom of the democratic crisis is the growing popular disaffection with democratic institutions and increasing support for authoritarian interpretations of democracy. Drawing on public opinion data from various international and national polls in a wide sample of democracies in North America and Western Europe, Foa and Mounk () show that citizens have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and even increasingly open to nondemocratic alternatives.…”