Political Education and Democratic Backsliding from a Political Science Perspective

We must recognize that democratic governance is seriously challenged. Participation and trust are in a downward trend in many democracies. Democratic institutions such as a free press and an independent judiciary, along with freedom of speech and expression are under pressure and are being undermined in many countries. Political parties that question liberal democracy are on the rise and moderate ruling parties are in rapid decline. Social media and manipulation are undermining the public debate about policy issues. Autocratic states are becoming increasingly aggressive and expansionist. This raises the question of the role of social studies, as political education, in this development. Have social studies contributed to this development? Or is it producing a false consciousness that democratic governance is in good shape? Should it be a bulwark for established democracies? Should it mirror and include the struggles for democracy, or should it embrace and reflect new developments? The answer to these questions depends on how we understand political education in social studies. In this paper, we analyze social studies from several political science perspectives. Our aim is to discuss the role that social studies can play in the current situation of weakening democratic governance. We analyze political education in social studies from the following perspectives: as public policy, as implementation, as political culture, as institutionalized democratic governance, as hegemony in Gramscian terms, as a condition for political behavior/electoral studies, and as idealism opposed to realism. In our discussion, we draw on insights from all these perspectives to provide answers to what political education in social studies can be in a situation of democratic backsliding.