Democratic innovations as an antidote to authoritarianism? An analysis according to Erich Fromm in light of empirical fieldwork

Since the turn of the millennium, a broad and differentiated debate on democratic innovations has developed in political science. In times of democratic backsliding, they contribute to the strengthening of resilience against authoritarianism. Drawing on the theories of Erich Fromm, we argue that democratic innovations can help to strengthen people’s experience of democracy and thereby reduce the ‘fear of freedom’ described by Fromm. However, deliberative processes and democratic dialogue, as promoted by innovations in democracy, also require preparation so that they can help prevent authoritarian tendencies. After a theoretical introduction, we analyse interviews with people who are developing or implementing democratic innovations at various stages of the policy cycle and show, how people can be prepared for a participation and deliberation in democracy. The policy cycle serves as a bridge between Fromm’s theory and the experiences of practitioners. Finally, based on the theoretical assumptions and interviews, we propose an extended model of democratic innovation.