Parties and Players Internally Disrupt Liberal Democratic Processes

These actors advance right-wing policies, employ populist tactics, and rely on digital technologies to spread their messages and mobilize supporters. Many secure significant electoral support, often becoming the largest or governing party. 

Once in power, they seek to reshape liberal democratic institutions — including the judiciary, electoral regulation, and oversight bodies — in ways that consolidate their authority. They also promote alternative understandings of democracy, moving away from established liberal democratic principles toward new interpretations of how democratic systems should function.

India

Critics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one of the two major political party in the country, accuse them of subverting India’s state agencies and democratic institutions for electoral advantage, including the Election Commission. It has also been alleged that the BJP has weaponized central investigative agencies (such as the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department) to target rivals.

Alongside, the BJP has overseen a crackdown against the independent media, including the international outlets, and denied the travel access to international journalists.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Indian Election.

Indonesia

Former president Joko Widodo enjoyed extremely high approval ratings often topping 70%, arguably providing the necessary political capital to engage in a wide range of anti-competitive behavior.

Widodo campaigned for his two-time opponent Prabowo Subianto, against his party’s nominee Ganjar Pranowo, seemingly in violation of a 2017 election law requiring sitting presidents to take a leave of absence to endorse and campaign for a candidate.

Jokowi's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming, was allowed to run as Prabowo’s vice presidential nominee, despite being below the age cut-off. Chief Justice Anwar Usman, Jokowi’s brother-in-law, was removed from his position due to a conflict of interests during a controversial court case, when the age limit was lowered for candidates with experience in elected regional office.  

As a result, Jokowi (and his children) were expelled from his party the PDI-P on the grounds that they had violated the party’s code of ethics.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Indonesia Election.

Pakistan

The military has an influential role in Pakistani politics, including direct rule for 33 years in sum in the interval from 1958 to 2008.

The military often directing the makeup and conduct of ruling governments and political parties. Hence, the functioning of the country’s democratic processes and transitions from one civil government to another has always remained on a precarious slope.

It is widely believed that the military has been involved in ousting the Prime Minister Imran Khan and subsequent ascension of Shahbaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister in a subversion of the democratic political process.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Pakistan Election.

Mozambique

Former President Filipe Nyusi undermined liberal democratic norms in Mozambique. During his term, the hidden debts scandal occurred, where government officials and elites orchestrated a multi-billion-dollar loan scheme in secret, bypassing parliamentary oversight and deceiving the public.

Nyusi was influencing the judiciary, as seen in accusations of political interference in the scandal, where key legal proceedings were delayed, and judicial actors faced intimidation.

Furthermore, his administration’s push for constitutional amendments in 2018 strengthened presidential control over local governance by limiting the autonomy of elected provincial governors, effectively consolidating executive power at the expense of democratic decentralization.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Mozambique Election.

South Africa

The Economic Freedom Fighters and recently founded the MK Party (MKP) deploy far-left populist rhetoric — both on-and offline — that directly challenges the constitutional foundations of the nation in seeking to roll back private property rights.

Jacob Zuma, former South African President and current the heads of the MKP, has also criticised the South African courts as colonial inheritances that require reform in direct response to unfavourable rulings regarding his conduct in office.

Read more in our report on the 2024 South Africa Election.

Georgia

There remain no formal institutions which can effectively check and balance the power of Georgian Dream, illiberal left-wing populist ruling party.

Georgian Dream has been able to dominate societal discourse in Georgia, relying on propaganda to subvert the integrity of the free press. The party could achieve that through loyalists’ acquisition of key television channels and the use of large-scale online misinformation campaigns. This, in turn, has afforded the party electoral success — with independent and oppositional media unable to sufficiently compete in the information sphere.

The resulting parliamentary majority has been exploited to install loyalists across the branches of government, subverting the separation of powers. As the result of constitutional reforms, Georgian Dream was allowed to expand competencies for the election of the President, as well as the appointment of judges.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Georgia Election.

The United Kingdom

Under Boris Johnson’s premiership, the former Conservative government unlawfully prorogued Parliament in 2019 to prevent MPs from debating their Brexit withdrawal strategy, a move later ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. They also introduced the Internal Market Bill, which explicitly sought to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in breach of international law.

These actions, including the dismissal of constitutional checks and the sidelining of parliamentary sovereignty – leaving aside Liz Truss’ brief disastrous tenure – left the last premier Rishi Sunak inheriting a party with a shattered reputation.

Read more in our report on the 2024 United Kingdom Election.

The United States

Donald Trump has undermined liberal democratic institutions by repeatedly challenging the legitimacy of elections. This included baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, culminating in Trump’s encouragement of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. While in office, he also attempted to erode judicial independence, by his public attacks on judges who ruled against his administration.

Read more in our report on the 2024 United States Election.

Mexico

2024-election winners MORENA, a left-wing, populist party, have consistently criticized aspects of Mexico’s democratic institutions as serving the elite rather than the people. Across his six year tenure a former Mexican president, López Obrador, attempted to reform the electoral authority and independent governmental oversight institutions to favor MORENA in elections. Yet, he could pass a judicial reform that would make judges elected by popular vote, which was expected to allow parties to build up support within the judiciary and undermine its independence.

President-elected, Claudia Sheinbaum, has been much less critical of Mexico’s democratic structures. However, within two months of her presidency, she began a process of reforming independent governmental oversight organizations. With MORENA’s higher presence in the legislature, Sheinbaum would be expected to face fewer challenges than Obrador did in undertaking constitutional reforms.

Read more in our report on the 2024 Mexico Election.