Reinforcing Democracy: Exploring the Mechanisms and Stages of Democratic Resilience

Democratic resilience has emerged as a vital area within comparative politics and international relations, especially in response to mounting evidence of democratic backsliding over the past two decades. Building on a robust foundation that has mapped the causes and trajectories of democratic erosion, recent studies have begun to shift focus toward the mechanisms by which democracies resist and recover from anti-democratic threats. Pioneering work by scholars such as Bermeo, Lührmann, and Lindberg highlights the urgent need to understand not only the vulnerabilities of democratic systems, but also their adaptive capacities. Despite growing interest, the literature on democratic resilience is still evolving, with considerable debate around its conceptualization, measurement, and the actors involved in safeguarding democratic institutions.

Recent research efforts have begun to chart the empirical terrain, addressing why and how democracies endure or revive in the face of authoritarian pressures. Panels at major conferences—including the American Political Science Association—have underscored this emerging trend, showcasing the field’s shift toward a more hopeful and agency-driven exploration. Yet, critical gaps remain regarding the distinct stages of resilience, the range of actors involved, and the efficacy—and potential drawbacks—of various resistance strategies. Significant theoretical and methodological questions persist, particularly in distinguishing successful resistance from temporary or reversible gains, and in understanding the broader implications for democratic quality and stability.

This Research Topic aims to advance the field of democratic resilience by collecting innovative, methodologically pluralist, and theoretically grounded scholarship. It seeks to map the diverse ways in which pro-democracy actors—both institutional and grassroots—respond to, resist, and reverse autocratizing trends. The primary goals include refining definitions and metrics of resilience, examining both the protection and revival of democratic norms, and exploring why outcomes vary across contexts. Contributions may address questions such as: What factors enable certain democracies to resist backsliding? How do actors reclaim democratic space after an erosion has occurred? What are the intended and unintended consequences of resistance strategies?

The scope of this Research Topic welcomes studies from across the spectrum of methodological approaches, covering both the protection of democratic institutions against imminent threats and the revival of democracies following episodes of backsliding. We invite comparative case studies, cross-national quantitative analyses, and theoretical reflections to build a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. To gather further insights in this evolving field, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Conceptual and methodological debates on measuring democratic resilience
- Case studies of resistance and revival efforts in diverse geographic contexts
- The roles of civil society, political parties, institutions, and international actors
- Analysis of successful and failed resistance strategies and their consequences
- Long-term impacts of resilience efforts on democratic quality and stability
Patterns of “reversed” resilience and repeated cycles of backsliding and recovery

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: democratic resilience, backsliding, pro-democracy actors, institutional protection, revival strategies, comparative politics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.