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@article{203443,
        author = {Komal Sharma},
        title = {The New Reverse Wave: Democratic Backsliding in Contemporary Democracies},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {12},
        pages = {11834-11840},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=203443},
        abstract = {In 2026 CE democracy is facing a turmoil, while the formal democratic regimes remain relatively high, the quality and substance of democratic governance have deteriorated in many of them. This phenomenon is popularly called "Democratic Backsliding" i.e. the gradual erosion of democratic institutions, norms and practices within a formal democratic setup. This article situates democratic backsliding within Samuel P. Huntington’s Waves of Democracy, arguing that contemporary democratic decline indicates a new form of regression distinct from earlier authoritarian reversals. By comparing Cold War era, democratic reversal with post-Cold War patterns of internal erosion, this article highlights how majoritarianism, populism, executive advancement and institutional weakening have become a recent cause for democratic backsliding. This article highlights the contemporary situation of democratic champions like the United States, Brazil, Philippines, India, and Turkey and emphasizes the need for democratic resilience through institutional safeguards, political pluralism and civil society engagement.},
        keywords = {Populism, Illiberal Democracy, Autocracy, Institutional Erosion, Majoritarianism, Executive Aggrandizement},
        month = {May},
        }