The Freedom House report shows a further global decline in democracy

Freedom House ranks individual countries on 25 indicators that assess the health (or lack thereof) of a specific country’s democracy. The cumulative result then enables the organization, which has been in operation since 1941, to classify a particular country as “free”, “partly free” or “not free” (see map below). Of the 195 independent countries assessed, 73 countries experienced a decline in the score and only 28 saw growth, and this margin is the widest of its kind in the past decade and a half. Moreover, 54 countries are now classified as “not free,” or about 38 percent of the world’s population, the highest proportion since 2005. Less than 20 percent of the world’s population lives in countries now classified as “free.” As in previous years, major pro-democracy protests rocked different parts of the world. But from Algeria to Belarus to Hong Kong, “the regimes that surprised the protests … took them back, arrested and tried protesters, passed new restrictive laws, and in some cases resorted to brutal crackdowns, for which they faced little international repercussions,” he noted Freedom House. Of the 39 countries and territories that witnessed pro-democracy protests in 2019, 23 saw their scores drop in the following year, and perhaps the most striking decision was Freedom House downgrading India – the world’s largest democracy – from “free” to “partially”. Free. “The report highlights the steady erosion of Indian democracy under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose role is linked to increasing pressure on human rights groups, intimidation and harassment of journalists and academics, policies that stigmatize and harm religious minorities, especially Muslims, and the politicization of the Indian judiciary.” Modi, India seems to have abandoned its ability to act as a global democratic leader, raising narrow Hindu national interests at the expense of its founding values ​​of inclusion and equal rights for all, “Freedom noted the emergence of the coronavirus epidemic has also become a way for governments from Hungary to El Salvador to the Philippines to quell dissent and ban Demonstrations and undermining political transparency. ”Effects [of measures there] Sarah Ribuchi, one of the report’s authors, said in a briefing Tuesday in this year’s report, titled “Democracy Under Siege,” that the organization called for “the pernicious influence of the regime in China, the world’s most populous dictatorship,” referring not only to its repressive policies in Hong Kong. Kong and Xinjiang, but also the impact of their growing influence abroad in undermining accountability for human rights at the international level. Forums and strengthening alliances between authoritarian governments: For years, Freedom House was seen by some left-wing critics as a platform for Cold War ethics, a cog in a larger apparatus in Washington intended to justify American hegemony. But Freedom House also disagreed with the United States, and although it was still classified as “free,” the United States fell by three points, finding a place closer to countries such as Romania and Panama than to Western European partners such as France and Germany. This was a result of the deterioration that began before President Donald Trump’s tenure but became more evident during his tenure. The report noted that “the last weeks of the Trump presidency witnessed unprecedented attacks on one of the most visible and influential democracies in the world.” . “After four years of already condoning and pardoning official wrongdoing, evading accountability for his transgressions, and encouraging racist and right-wing extremists, the outgoing president has publicly sought to cancel his illegal ballot loss, culminating in his incitement to the armed mob. On the results.Trump’s actions have passed unchecked by most lawmakers from his party, with a dizzying silence that undermined basic democratic principles. ”This atmosphere of crisis has global implications. Although “the spread of authoritarianism is a phenomenon that goes well on its own,” Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, told Today’s WorldView, the “huge role” of the United States as one of the oldest and most influential democracies in the world. Still important. “After the events of the Capitol, from a propaganda point of view, we presented a great victory for the autocrats.” To help address the democratic backsliding in America, Ribucci of Freedom House pointed to the need for important political reforms that would expand voting rights, taking into account the history of racial discrimination in the US elections and the establishment of independent districting committees that would distance the country from the partisan manipulation that helps To fuel polarization. Democratic lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would address some of these concerns. But Republicans in state legislatures are also introducing dozens of bills that would restrict the ease of voting. Abramovitz said that there is “very serious work to be done as a country,” reiterating his hope that “Washington will respond to the warnings from this report.”