This decline comes as elected leaders face unprecedented challenges from Russia’s war in Ukraine, cost of living crises, a looming global recession and climate change.
Half of the world’s democracies are in a state of decline amid worsening civil liberties and rule of law while already authoritarian governments are becoming more oppressive, Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said on Wednesday. In Europe, almost half of all democracies have suffered erosion in the last five years, it said.
On a positive note, Africa remained resilient in the face of instability. Countries including The Gambia, Niger and Zambia all saw improvements in democratic quality, the report said.
STOCKHOLM, Nov 22 The United States has joined an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time, the International IDEA think-tank said today, pointing to a “visible deterioration” it said began in 2019. Globally, more than one in four people live in a backsliding.