Policy & Impact Brief: When Democracy Weakens, Fair Government Follows

New research from Rutgers SPAA Assistant Professor Ricardo Bello-Gomez examines 85 countries over more than two decades (1996–2022) and finds that when democratic institutions weaken, the professional foundations of government begin to erode as well. Specifically, democratic backsliding is associated with declines in merit-based hiring and impartial decision-making in public administration. Attempting to align public officials with their specific policy agenda, political leaders with authoritarian aims target and weaken public administration.

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