Democracy in Latin America: Between Regression and Resilience

For a long time, Latin America seemed to be one of the success stories of the "third wave" of democratization. After democratic transitions in the 1980s and early 1990s, most countries in the region seemed to be on the road to democratic consolidation in the 2000s and early 2010s. In recent years, however, Latin America's democratic consolidation has begun to unravel in the face of major populist challenges from both the left and the right. Today, the crisis of democracy has become a global phenomenon, intersecting with challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, economic recession, climate change, and the increasingly assertive role of autocratic powers such as China and Russia, which exert further pressure on democratic regimes. This panel invites contributions from colleagues working on democracy in Latin America to explore the current trend of democratic regression and autocratization, as well as instances of resilience and opportunities to defend democracy in Latin America.