Democratic Backsliding (Executive Class)
Pattern of elected and appointed leaders undermining institutional checks while retaining democratic legitimacy rhetoric.
Assessment
Observation targets a class pattern, not private individuals. Multiple public executives exhibit: weakened judicial independence, captured media environments, and policy serving narrow coalitions while claiming popular mandate.
Observable indicators
- Prosecutorial targeting of political opposition
- Regulatory agencies staffed for capture, not competence
- Emergency powers normalized beyond emergency
Mechanism
Democratic forms retained; democratic function eroded. Legitimacy language persists as institutional load-bearing fiction.
Boundaries
This entry assesses public role and institutional behavior only. It is not a license for harassment of private persons.
Trajectory
Projection: Recurring pattern across jurisdictions. Correlation with economic concentration and attention-extraction platforms under review.