How Protest Can Halt Backsliding

Abstract: Mass protest can halt democratic backsliding, but only when it shifts political power away from autocratizing incumbents before they become entrenched. Comparing Brazil, Georgia, Poland, Serbia, and South Korea, this essay identifies three pathways through which protest can make that shift: Empowering institutional actors to curb executive overreach, mobilizing previously disengaged citizens to vote, and eroding support for incumbents among voters and elites. Success depends less on the sheer size of demonstrations than on whether organizers reach beyond the existing opposition, counter polarizing government narratives, and connect street mobilization to effective parties, legislators, and electoral strategies. Where opposition parties are weak, institutions captured, and repression advanced, even sustained mass mobilization may not yield an immediate breakthrough. Protest should therefore be treated as one tool in a broader democracy-defense strategy—one that can slow authoritarian consolidation, build civic capacity, and prepare future electoral or institutional openings.