There is less and less democracy: freedoms are at risk

There is less and less democracy in the world. The 2021 report of Freedom House, an American non-governmental organization, but 80% funded by the US government, which annually photographs freedoms on Earth since the Second World War. The title is clear: Democracy under siege.

2020, the year considered by the report, was the fifteenth in a row in which freedom in the world has decreased. To the authoritarian drifts of China (under accusation for disinformation linked to the outbreak of the pandemic, for the repression of minorities and for meddling in Hong Kong) and Russia new concerns such as those for the United States have joined in starting with the presidential campaign to arrive at the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6, passing Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge defeat.

Equally serious is the situation in India where there is the repression of dissent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist movement he leads. India, in the ranking of the organization, has gone from a free country to a partially free country.

In 2020, more countries have lost their freedom than those improved in this year: the difference between countries that have become less democratic and more democratic is very 45. Nearly 75 percent of the world’s population last year was in a country where democracy has declined. Less than 20% of the world’s population lives in a country that can be considered free. This category includes Italy, France, Spain, Germany and practically all of Europe.

On all countries, in the period of Covid, we add the economic uncertainty that has led to the growth of populisms, but also the forced choice, for public health, to limit personal freedoms with government initiatives. According to the report, “democracy is in decline because its most important representatives are not doing enough to protect it. Global leadership and solidarity between democratic states are urgently needed ».