New Policy Brief: Fracturing Authoritarian Coalitions

On November 20, 2025, Perry World House, with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, held a workshop that convened leading democracy scholars and researchers to identify the key elements of a “democratic playbook.” How do resilient democracies push back against authoritarian and non-democratic populist movements?

Democratic backsliding in the 21st century is characterized by gradual, ambiguous shifts that often confound early detection and stymie coordinated opposition. Countering backsliding requires a highly contextual, multi-pronged, and sequenced approach.

Given this context, workshop experts highlighted that for pro-democracy opposition movements to succeed, they must find ways to break apart authoritarian coalitions. Their recommendations for doing so are the basis of this brief.