In the eye of the storm: Street-level organizations in circumstances of democratic backsliding

Abstract

Street-level organizations (SLOs) play a key, but understudied, political role in democratic governance as they are responsible for the direct-delivery of public services that are vital to the functioning of the state. To discuss the political role of SLOs in general, this study begins by identifying four SLO roles, which are conceptualized here by distinguishing policy-sphere versus politics-sphere and “SLOs-as-takers” versus “SLOs-as-makers.” SLOs' political role in a democratic backsliding and populism context is specified by distinguishing whether SLOs converge to, or diverge from, illiberal policies, and distinguishing reactive and proactive responses. Each of the four responses is elaborated by referring to how SLOs both influence, and are influenced by, populism and democratic backsliding. Shifting attention to the specific context of democratic erosion allows a more nuanced distinction between policy sectors and countries, as well as identifying the ways through which public service provision facilitates or inhibits democratic backsliding.