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Professor Margit Cohn presents on ‘The Theory and Practice of Democratic Backsliding: Israel (and the US)’.
13 March 2025
In the inaugural edition of the Sidney Seminars, Professor Margit Cohn (Hebrew University, Faculty of Laws) gave a talk titled ‘The Theory and Practice of Democratic Backsliding: Israel (and the US)’. She identified the recent trend of democracies experiencing a gradual erosion of their core democratic values, a process often called ‘democratic backsliding’, ‘democratic retrogression’, or a move toward autocracy.
Following the patterns and key factors identified by scholars in relation to this trend, Professor Cohn presented an explanatory theory of the moves towards compromised democracy. She then applied the theory to the ongoing backsliding of Israel’s democracy, recently downgraded from a ‘liberal’ to an ‘electoral democracy’ (V-Dem Democracy Report 2024).
Among other things, the talk identified the ongoing attempts to politicise the judicial appointment process, considered against the background of the total absence of other mechanisms found in most democracies (e.g., bicameral legislatures and the membership in transnational organisations that serve to constrain). Following Professor Cohn’s presentation, participants at the seminar gave their comments and questions, leading into further discussions. The event was chaired by Professor Jeff King (UCL Laws).
Watch a video recording of the seminar on UCL Laws’ YouTube channel, or view it directly below.