(Stockholm) Half of democratic countries are experiencing an erosion of their political system, intensified by the war in Ukraine and the economic crisis, according to a report published on Wednesday by the think tank IDEA International, the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance .
“We now see extremely unfavorable factors for democracy, which are intensified by the fallout from the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic and the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine,” Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary general, told AFP. of the Swedish-based organization.
According to him, this decline can result, for example, in the questioning of the credibility of elections, in attacks on the rule of law or even in obstacles to civic space.
The democracies with the most serious democratic erosion, which the report categorizes as “retreating” and which include the United States since last year, as well as Brazil, Hungary, Poland, India and Mauritius, increased from six to seven in 2022 with the addition of El Salvador.
For Kevin Casas-Zamora, the case of the United States is particularly worrying.
According to the report, the country faces problems of political polarization, institutional dysfunctions and threats to civil liberties.
“It is now clear that this fever has not subsided with the election of a new government,” said Mr. Casas-Zamora.
According to him, this translates in particular into uncontrollable levels of polarization and attempts to “compromise the credibility of the electoral results without any proof of fraud”.
He believes that the United States has also taken “a visible step backwards” in sexual and reproductive rights, “which is very exceptional because most countries, […]progress in terms of expanding sexual and reproductive rights”.
More authoritarianism
Of the 173 countries covered by the report, 52 of the democracies counted were in decline.
In contrast, 27 countries turned to authoritarianism, more than double those that turned to democracy.
Almost half of authoritarian regimes also intensified their repression in 2022, with Afghanistan, Belarus, Cambodia, Comoros and Nicaragua seeing “general decline”.
In Asia, where only 54% of the population lives in a democracy, authoritarianism is on the rise, while the African continent remains “solid” in the face of instability, despite the large number of challenges it faces.
Ten years after the Arab Spring, the Middle East continues to be “the most authoritarian region in the world” and has only three democracies: Iraq, Israel and Lebanon.
In Europe, nearly half of the continent’s democracies, or 17 countries, have suffered from democratic erosion over the past five years.
“Democracies struggle to effectively balance environments marked by instability and anxiety. Populism continues to gain ground around the world as innovation and growth stagnate or decline,” the report said.
He also notes “disturbing trends,” even in countries with medium or high levels of democratic standards.
Over the past five years, progress has stagnated in all indices of the think tank’s studies, with some returning to the same level as in the 1990s, according to the report.
“Democratic systems have really tumbled in the past two decades and this has become a burning issue in our time,” says Casas-Zamora.
Yet there are also signs of progress.
The report thus indicates that populations are coming together to push their government to respond to the demands of the 21e century, from reproductive rights in Latin America to youth climate protests around the globe.
“But also in countries like Iran where people have taken to the streets to demand freedom, equality and dignity,” adds Casas-Zamora.
“There are some glimmers of hope, but the overall trend remains bleak.”