According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), a growing number of nations are moving toward authoritarianism, while the number of existing democracies under threat has never been higher.
Populist politics, the use of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to silence critics, a tendency for countries to mimic the anti-democratic behaviour of others, and disinformation used to divide societies are primarily to blame, according to a report released by the Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation.
The report stated that ‘the number of nations experiencing ‘democratic backsliding’ has never been higher,’ referring to the regressive turn in areas such as checks on government and judicial independence, as well as media freedom and human rights.
Afghanistan, which was taken over by Taliban militants after international troops withdrew, in August, is this year’s most dramatic case, while Myanmar’s February 1 coup marked the collapse of a fragile democracy.
Mali, which has had two coups since 2020 and Tunisia, where the president has dissolved parliament and declared a state of emergency, are two other examples.
Presidents in large democracies such as Brazil and the United States have questioned the legitimacy of election results, while groups that criticized the government policies have been prosecuted in India.
The European countries with the greatest declines in democracy are Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Serbia. Between 2010 and 2020, Turkey experienced one of the steepest declines.
‘In fact, 70% of the global population now lives in either non-democratic regimes or democratically backsliding countries,’ the report remarked.
Governments’ authoritarian behaviour has increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic gives more instruments and rationale for repressive techniques and dissent silencing in nations as diverse as Belarus, Cuba, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Venezuela,’ the report said.
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