Integralność demokracji liberalnej wobec współczesnych procesów erozji
The Integrity of Liberal Democracy under Contemporary Erosion

Summary/Abstract: Liberal democracy, long regarded as a stable and self-reinforcing political order, is currently experiencing a profound erosion of its institutional and normative integrity. This article conceptualizes contemporary democratic backsliding as a legalistic process in which formal procedures are preserved while their substantive content and the effective capacity of checks and balances are gradually undermined. The study aims to develop the concept of democratic integrity as an analytical category and to capture it empirically as a discrepancy between procedural facades and actual institutional practice. The analysis draws on a qualitative synthesis of the literature and secondary data from international democracy indices (Freedom House, Varieties of Democracy), treated as heuristic indicators used to trace the direction and dynamics of change in the rule of law, political pluralism, and civil liberties. The article identifies three interrelated mechanisms driving the erosion of democratic integrity: authoritarian populism, the degradation of the shared information environment, and geopolitical pressure exerted by authoritarian states.

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