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5 - Democratic Backsliding and the Politicization of Public Employment

from Part I - Institutional Dimensions of Democratic Backsliding and Resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2025

By
Frances Cayton  and
Bryn Rosenfeld
Edited by
Valerie J. Bunce ,
Thomas B. Pepinsky ,
Rachel Beatty Riedl  and
Kenneth M. Roberts
Valerie J. Bunce
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Thomas B. Pepinsky
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Rachel Beatty Riedl
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Kenneth M. Roberts
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

This chapter examines the relationship between a politicized public sector and democratic backsliding. It is argued that politicization of public employment is an important, if understudied, component of the institutional landscape that makes democracy vulnerable. Bureaucratic politicization increases the likelihood that backsliding becomes endogenous by generating electoral advantages for incumbents and by raising the stakes of control over government. Politicization of the state administration allows incumbents to dole out patronage jobs; introduce political loyalty tests as a precondition for accessing basic government services; press public employees into campaign-related work; and utilize state funds for political purposes. Building on this volume’s aim of untangling the relationship between institutional subversion and backsliding, particular attention is given to the timing and sequencing of these processes. Evidence from Eastern Europe and a global sample shed light on how governments in countries that once seemed to be the front-runners of democratization concentrated political power by extending the economic reach of the state and subverting public sector independence. This study contributes to research on the illiberal political economy that supports backsliding regimes and their capture of key levers of political power.

Keywords

Democratic backslidingpublic sectorbureaucracypoliticizationEastern EuropePolandHungary
Type
Chapter
Information
Global Challenges to Democracy
Comparative Perspectives on Backsliding, Autocracy, and Resilience
 , pp. 89 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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