When democracy is eroded by democratically elected incumbents, it is up to others to defend democracy and sustain the democratic institutions. An emerging body of research looks at the roles, challenges, and tactics of these democratic defenders, yet there is no research that explores under what circumstances civil servants move from bystanders to democratic defenders. I argue that civil servants are prime candidates to defend democracy against incumbent-led autocratisation, which I conceptualise as ‘administrative democratic defence’. Based on in-depth, semi-structured elite interviews in the Netherlands, I argue that administrative democratic defence only occurs when three dilemmas are successfully navigated: civil servants need to perceive they have the capability to recognise autocratisation, they need to perceive they have access to legitimate instruments to halt it, and they need to be willing to use those instruments. In addition, I show how a resilient democracy requires continued awareness and action on its part – even in a highly democratic and liberal context.
