This chapter outlines the contemporary crisis of democratic backsliding, places it into historical context, locates the central role of elites in theories that account for backsliding, and inserts the role of citizens as a critically overlooked factor in democratic outcomes. The Introduction continues by presenting the empirical puzzle ("What makes a good citizen in hard times?) and the book's central argument – citizenship norms become partisan in hard times, leading to different definitions of good citizenship and, therefore, obligation. It concludes by discussing the two democratic contexts used for examining citizenship norms (political polarization, foreign interference in elections), the three empirical case studies (the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany), and outlines the remainder of the book.