2021 REPORT: America Is Losing Its Democracy

America was just downgraded to a “backsliding” democracy for the first time, alongside other massive geopolitical and economic powers. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance released its report on autocracies, and changes among existing democracies. Their conclusion is that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the danger of countries losing their democracies and becoming autocratic regimes, With increased tactics like restricting free speech, weakening the rule of law, and in the case of the United States, a visible deterioration beginning in 2019, culminating in the violently contested election of 2020.

Globally, for the fifth consecutive year, more countries are moving towards authoritarianism than towards democracy. In fact, they count three times as many, and the democratic erosion in the United States is the most apparent, and reflective of the changing state of the world. The report points specifically to citizens losing their faith in the ability of democratic institutions to respond to social demands and solve problems, along with rampant corruption destroying their trust, and a credibility crisis stemming from actions like the invasion of Iraq, the global financial collapse, and the insurrection on January 6th.

Terrifyingly, the rampant increase in autocratic methods and leaders, has seen a pattern of obvious and time-honored tactics, with plenty of popular support - direct echoing other periods in world history where income inequality, political instability, and aggressive powerful leaders driven by a cult of personality were able to rise to power. For some countries, this has already happened, while others are predictably undergoing the process, step by step.

The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated democratic erosion in the United States, which has been mirrored around the world with the politicization of judiciaries, the manipulation of media, restrictions on civil liberties and minority rights, and the weakening of civil society.

The 2021 Global State of Democracy report noted that the pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable groups like children, migrants, disabled people, and ethnic, sexual, and religious minorities, who have had more difficulty accessing healthcare, and been discriminated against in the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations around the world.

Democratic ideals like freedom of movement have been dismantled, often being used for political means instead of effective efforts at stopping the virus. For example, in the United States, the Trump Administration placed a travel ban on China, while most of the active cases were coming from Europe, which was already well understood by February of 2020 - and according to a study by the CDC, this political hyper-focus on China, but not Europe prevented tens of thousands of lives from being saved. Other rights, like voting, have been increasingly restricted, and the rapid passage and introduction of new voting laws - ostensibly to prevent nonexistent voter fraud have disproportionately affected or threaten to negatively affect voting among marginalized groups.

And the combative disinformation around the legitimacy of electoral politics, election results, and authority of elected officials has not just been a factor in American politics, but in a terrifyingly large number of countries These changes come by way of hyperpolarization through social media and fervent, unchecked misinformation against a backdrop of grotesque levels of economic inequality, which we clearly see the effect of on our government in the United States.

Corporations and the ultra-wealthy are directly bankrolling the legislative branch while partisan gerrymandering and restrictive voting laws become the norm. And even though the post-2020 election HAS seen some minor improvement, like lower corruption scores and more predictable enforcement, the government's inability to establish consistent civil liberties, or act as an effective check on itself has contributed to its continued decline.

And while this might be best reflected in American politics, it’s a global trend, in more countries than you would imagine. According to the report, more than a quarter of the world’s population now lives in a backsliding democracy, and when combined with those living in outright non-democratic regimes, they make up more than 2/3rd of the world’s population. That is, most of the world, is either losing or has already lost its democracy.

This report, which we link in our sources and highly encourage you to read, paints a nuanced and well-researched analysis of the ongoing breakdown of Representative government, checks on government, fundamental rights, impartial administration, and people’s political engagement.

It is very very bad news, and autocratic regimes are not only increasing, but thriving, and encouraging other autocracies against a backdrop of ineffective and timid governance during major crises.