Contemporary democratic backsliding: epistemological reflections from experiences in the Global South

Abstract

The trend of democratic regression, observed in different regions of the world, has encouraged the production of new theoretical explanations about political reality and constitutional law. A review of the literature indicates the consolidation of reflections from the United States and Europe that, based on the classical theory of liberal democracy and the rule of law, have produced concepts applied in various local contexts. Given this, and focusing on the Brazilian theoretical and practical situation, this study aims to question and debate the possibility of applying external theories in multiple distinct realities and the epistemological difficulties that efforts to general classify political regimes may face. It is observed that ideas change during theoretical communication between different places and authors, and it is therefore important to consider the influences of the respective contexts on the formation of knowledge. For the theme of democracy, specifically, foreign theories help to understand antidemocratic strategies, especially transnational ones, providing timely and relatively plausible epistemological updates with contemporary tensions, including Brazilian ones. However, to assess the respective causes, a critical stance towards the structures of political and epistemic domination of the Global North is necessary, with the projection of paradigms based on the realities of the peripheral world. To this end, “cultural translation” can be a useful tool for relating and reinterpreting theories, building bridges between worlds and identifying differences without uncritical acceptance.

Keywords: democratic backsliding; Global South; epistemology and cultural translation.