How Democracies Successfully Fight Off Authoritarian Leaders

What Happened A detailed study of democratic resilience across multiple countries has identified the key mechanisms that allow democracies to survive authoritarian threats from within. The research examined successful cases of democratic defense in Brazil, South Korea, and Poland, contrasting them with failed cases like Venezuela and Hungary. The analysis reveals that democratic survival hinges primarily on what researchers call “threat legibility” - how obvious the authoritarian threat appears to key institutions and the general public.