Democracy in Decline

In the 1980s and 1990s there was reason to celebrate, as military dictatorships in Latin America came to an end and Communism collapsed in Europe. But in the 21st. Century democratisation has gone into reverse. According to the latest annual report from the Washington-based NGO Freedom House, democracy is under assault in many parts of the world, including the United States itself. “Dictators are toiling to stamp out the last vestiges of domestic dissent and spread their harmful influence to new corners of the world,” the report laments. China comes in for intense criticism for its “totalitarian offensive” against Uyghurs in Xinjiang, as well as its “relentless campaign to replace existing international norms with its own authoritarian vision.” Russia is lambasted for last year’s “stage-managed” elections, from which genuine opposition was largely excluded, while Iran used live ammunition against demonstrators last autumn, reportedly killing hundreds.

But it is not only the usual suspects who come under Freedom House’s critical gaze. The 2019 Report highlights how democracy and associated freedoms are in retreat across much of the supposedly democratic world. “Many freely elected leaders are dramatically narrowing their concerns to a blinkered interpretation of the national interest,” the report says. “In fact, such leaders — including the chief executives of the United States and India, the world’s two largest democracies — are increasingly willing to break down institutional safeguards and disregard the rights of critics and minorities as they pursue their populist agendas.” Donald Trump comes under fire for exerting pressure on electoral integrity, judicial independence and safeguards against corruption. Moreover numerous foreign governments have mimicked Trump’s attacks on “fake news media”, developing policies or legislation that have criminalized or suppressed free speech in their countries. More than half the world’s democracies have declined in political terms over the past 14 years, Freedom House opines, the worst example being India, which under Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi has registered “alarming departures from democratic norms”. Boris Johnson’s government in the UK is too new to figure in the report, but signs here in Britain are troubling too.