Democratic Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine their own Democracies — Susan Stokes

Susan Stokes is Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and Faculty Chair of the Chicago Center on Democracy. She is the author of books and articles about democracy, development, political behavior, and Latin American politics. Among her single- and co-authored books are Mandates and Democracy (Cambridge University Press 2001), Brokers, Voters, and Clientelism (CUP 2013), and Why Bother? Rethinking Participation in Elections and Protests (CUP 2019). Her most recent book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies, was published by Princeton University Press in September, 2025. Stokes a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2025-26 she served as president of the American Political Science Association. She is a co-founder of Bright Line Watch.