Toward a Democratic Playbook

In an era of rising autocratization, what enables democracies to resist? Much recent scholarship focuses on how executives capture political institutions and courts, co-opt media, politicize security institutions, or erode checks and balances. Less systematic attention has been given to successful cases of resistance: instances in which courts, legislatures, civil society, opposition coalitions, or federal structures prevent democratic collapse, or in which systems rebound after illiberal incursions.

On November 20, 2025, Perry World House convened leading scholars and analysts of comparative politics, democratic resilience, authoritarianism, and Latin America for a workshop on “building a democratic playbook.” While many in the academic and policy community have documented the authoritarian playbook used by aspiring autocrats across regions, far less systematic research exists on the strategies, actors, and institutional configurations that allow democracies to resist backsliding or recover after attempted autocratization. This workshop sought to fill that gap, and this report summarizes the discussion and identifies key insights and areas for further research.