Half of World's Democracies in Decline, US Among Nations with Most Severe Democratic Erosion: Report

Half of the world’s democracies are in decline amid worsening civil liberties and rule of law and authoritarian governments in power are becoming more oppressive, an intergovernmental watchdog group said on Wednesday.

The Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in its annual report said democratic institutions were being undermined by restrictions on freedom of expression to increasing distrust in legitimacy of elections.

The report also said that factors like Russia’s war in Ukraine, inflation, looming global recession, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic provide significant challenges.

“The world faces a multitude of crises, from the cost of living to risks of nuclear confrontation and the acceleration of the climate crisis,” IDEA said in its 2022 report on the state of democracy.

“At the same time, we see global democracy in decline. It is a toxic mix,” it added.

The IDEA arrived at its conclusion based on more than 100 variables including freedom of expression and personal integrity and security, which are then grouped and aggregated into broader categories.

It added that the number of backsliding countries, a term for those nations with the most severe democratic erosion, was very high and it included Poland, Hungary and the US.

In Europe, almost half of all the democracies have suffered erosion in the last five years. However, democratic values and institutions are increasingly seen as a fundamental bulwark against Russian aggression and in other countries.

“The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has shaken Europe, forcing the region to rethink security considerations and deal with impending food and energy crises,” the report said.

It further said that democracy is under threat from challenges to the legitimacy of credible election results, restrictions on online freedoms and rights, intractable corruption and the rise of extreme right parties.

“Never has there been such an urgency for democracies to respond, to show their citizens that they can forge new, innovative social contracts that bind people together rather than divide them,” it added.

The number of countries moving toward authoritarianism was more than double the number moving toward democracy measured over the past six years, it noted.

However, African nations including Gambia, Niger and Zambia saw improvements in democratic quality and the continent remained resilient in the face of instability.

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