Why Democratic Backsliding is Legal: Judicial Legitimacy and Institutional Decay in the United States

Authors

• Sherlyn Ochoa, St. Mary's University

Files

Contributor

Vega, Arturo (Faculty Mentor), Kalu, Vivian (Faculty Mentor), Guzman, Gustavo (Faculty Mentor)

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Keywords

Democratic party, Backsliding, Law, United States

Description

“In the United States, democratic backsliding is not a violation of the law—it is increasingly a product of it.” Democratic change often occurs through judicial interpretation Courts shape rights, participation, and equality Focus: how judicial legitimacy allows major democratic shifts—both expansion and restriction of rights

Format

pdf

Size

1 poster

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.