As governments prioritize security, democratic systems change. The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) evidence review finds that insecurity shifts public preferences, securitizes political competition, expands executive power, and normalizes surveillance and exceptional governance. Katharina Merkel, the review's author, and Dr. Magdalena Randall-Schab of WFD present these findings and discuss what keeps such powers bounded, reversible, and accountable and it's implications.