A leaderless struggle for democracy

The recent annual report (2020) of the prestigious Freedom House label on the state of Democracy and Liberties in the world states that 2019 was the fourteenth consecutive year in a progressive decline of freedoms in the world. That is, countries with net decreases in their aggregate score of Freedoms outnumber those with gains in Freedoms over the past 14 years.

The unfavourable gap between progress and setbacks widened in 2019 compared to 2018. As many as 64 countries experienced deterioration in their political rights and civil liberties while only 37 experienced improvement.

Ethnic, religious and other minority groups have borne the brunt of abuses by both democratic and authoritarian governments.

The Report notes that one of the world's largest democracies, India, has witnessed policies against its Muslim population, threatening the democratic future of a country that has been seen as a potential bulwark of freedom in Asia and the world.

The abuse of autocratic regimes and the ethical decay of institutions in democratic regimes combine to make the world increasingly hostile to new global demands. A surprising number of new citizen protests that have taken place during 2019 are a clear reflection - in the authors' opinion - of the inexhaustible and universal desire of all peoples for the defence of fundamental rights.

These protests, despite their growing scale and demonstration of force, have not managed to stop the general slide against freedoms, leading to a decline in Participation in electoral processes during the last decade in democratic countries as opposed to the increase in Participation in non-democratic regimes.

The report states that the United States has become an "unstable beacon" of freedoms. Democracy advocates around the world have historically looked to the United States for inspiration and support in defending freedoms. Congress has protected democracy in the United States by continuing to fund programs to that end in practice. However, the Trump Administration has failed - to date - to exhibit a consistent commitment to democracy in foreign policy, truly based on democratic and human rights principles.

We are, the report continues, in a world without democratic leadership. The same trends that have destabilized the great democracies (referring to the United States and India) and driven them away from their founding principles are creating a vacuum on the international stage. Where once democracies acted in unison to support territories in crisis, now authoritarian states often take sides by violating rights and imposing their will.

The 14 years of decline have affected all regions and subcategories of freedoms around the world, as the research team's graph shows:

The report concludes with the urgent need for democratic solidarity between countries committed to the defence of rights and freedoms. History has shown that the chaotic effects of authoritarian regimes are not limited to their own borders, and they seek to expand by negatively affecting the democratic sovereignty of other states. Similarly, with internal affairs, attacks on the rights of specific groups or individuals in a given country eventually endanger the freedom of the whole society.

The authors state that today we are witnessing a progressive strengthening of authoritarian regimes that are expanding their international reach. We are seeing the world become less stable and secure in multiple regions, and the freedoms and interests of all open societies are threatened. The tide can be turned, but the delay makes the task more difficult and costly.

Instead of tackling global challenges, these are put on hold while domestic problems are addressed. Genuine citizens and public servants in democracies must apply their basic principles simultaneously in domestic and foreign policy, and defend fundamental principles and rights wherever they are threatened.