[Séminaire général du CEE] Countering Illiberalism in Liberal Democracies: Tradeoffs, Strategies, Temporalities

Most literature on democratic backsliding in liberal democracies focuses on the erosion of democratic rights and institutions. Less systematic attention, however, has been paid to how pro-democracy actors can respond to illiberal threats, particularly in the short term. This paper lays the foundation for a research agenda on the conditions under which illiberal actors can be successfully countered in liberal democracies. It examines the use of formal, informal, and mobilization strategies in different scenarios—when illiberals are in power (resistance) or in opposition (containment and prevention)—emphasizing how the timing of interventions against illiberals exposes pro-democratic actors to various trade-offs and dilemmas. The paper highlights how two main factors—exogenous information and favorable political legacies—can increase the likelihood of successful responses by facilitating early coordination among pro-democratic actors in scenarios of prevention and resistance. The paper concludes by outlining specific priorities for future empirical research and explains how these are addressed in the articles included in the accompanying volume.

Speaker: 

Giovanni Capoccia, University of Oxford

Giovanni Capoccia is Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. His current research focuses on democratic self-defense against illiberal and anti-democratic forces. He also has a strong interest in political institutions, democratization, transitional justice, and historical approaches to the study of politics—fields in which he has published extensively. His writing primarily examines the politics of advanced democracies, particularly in Europe.

His co-directed project, Back from the Brink: Countering Illiberalism in Liberal Democracies, lays the groundwork for a research agenda on how illiberal forces can be countered in liberal democracies. The results of the project will be published in a collective volume. The analysis of democratic self-defense has been a longstanding theme in his research. His work on democratic crises in interwar Europe has been published in several international journals and in a research monograph titled Defending Democracy: Responses to Extremism in Interwar Europe (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005; paperback 2007). The book received the APSA Award for the Best Book in European Politics. 

He has been the recipient of several professional awards and has held visiting Fellowships at Harvard University, the Max-Planck Institute, the University of Heidelberg and UC Berkeley. He is currently Visiting Professor at Sciences Po Paris, Center of European Studies and Comparative Politics. His research has been supported by various UK and international funding agencies. In his current work, he is developing several themes within the research program outlined in Back from the Brink. He's on X at @gcapoccia1 and on Bluesky at @gcapoccia.bsky.social

Chair: 

Patrick Le Lidec, Sciences Po, CEE

Discussant: 

Saga Oskarson Kindstrand, Sciences Po, CEE