Seminar series Breaking the backsliding consensus The uneven upswings and downswings of democracy in the Western Balkans Add to calendar 2023-12-14 12:30 2023-12-14 14:00 Europe/Rome Breaking the backsliding consensus Sala Belvedere Villa Schifanoia YYYY-MM-DD Print Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Send by email When 14 December 2023 12:30 - 14:00 CET Where Sala Belvedere Villa Schifanoia Organised by Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies EGPP: European Governance and Politics Programme Join Jelena Dzankic as she focuses on understanding the democratic development in transitional countries Scholarship has examined the growing decline of democracy worldwide through references to democratic backsliding. Yet, can there be backsliding in societies where democracy never took off? Defining democracy as a wave-like process, this talk challenges the ‘backsliding consensus’ and offers an alternative analytical lens for understanding the democratic development in transitional countries. It then zooms in on the ‘promise of democracy’ in the Western Balkans, which has remained all but fulfilled. Brief democratising moments created illusions of moving towards liberal societies. Even so, continuous trade-offs between security, stability, and good governance resulted in an uneven flow of progress and regression of democracy. Scientific Organiser(s): Daniele Caramani (European University Institute) Contact(s): Alessandra Caldini Speaker(s): Jelena Džankić (EUI - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies)