On Monday, the Stockholm-based think tank International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) released its annual report detailing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global democracies. The report, titled “Global State of Democracy 2021,” listed the United States (US) as a “backsliding democracy” for the first time.
The study analysed global trends in 2020-2021 to report that the quality of democracy is declining in many countries, resulting in a global “democratic erosion.” The report also raised the alarm over a more severe and intentional kind of democratic erosion called “democratic backsliding.” It noted that more than two-thirds of the world’s population lives in non-existent or highly deteriorating conditions of democracy.
IDEA observed high levels of democratic backsliding in “regional geopolitical and economic powers such as Brazil, India and the US.” It also highlighted “concerning democratic declines” in the US and three European Union members: Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia.
This year’s report commented on how the advent of the pandemic regressed democratic values across the world, most notably in established democracies such as the US. “The US, the bastion of global democracy, fell victim to authoritarian tendencies itself and was knocked down a significant number of steps on the democratic scale.”
The assessment of the US centred around the “dismantling of democratic systems” under the Trump administration.
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The report determined out that “disputes about electoral outcomes are on the rise, including in established democracies.” At the same time, electoral reforms continue to contribute towards the “democratic backsliding.” For instance, in the US, “some states’ voter registration and voting laws, either recently approved or currently under discussion, end up disproportionately affecting minorities in a negative way.”
IDEA’s analysis identified former President Donald Trump’s questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 US electoral outcomes as “a historic turning point.” The report said, “Baseless allegations of electoral fraud and related disinformation undermined fundamental trust in the electoral process, which culminated in the storming of the US Capitol building in January 2021.”
On Monday, the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol ordered Trump ally and conservative lobbyist Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones to attend court as part of their investigation. The committee is also tied up in a legal battle with former President Trump over releasing documents related to his role in the January 6 insurrection.
The report concluded that “emerging from Covid-19, democracy finds itself at a crossroads.” Despite significant regressions, the report pointed out that “there are green shoots of innovation and reform.” Echoing the sentiments of IDEA, a study by Washington based think tank Freedom House in October 2020 found that since the beginning of the pandemic, democracy and human rights have worsened in 80 countries.