Less and less democratic countries in the world

2024-03-19 23:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The figures are disillusioning: in 137 countries, which can be considered as developing or expanding countries, the state of democracy has worsened in the last 20 years. According to the "Transformation Index" of the Bertelsmann Foundation today, 63 democracies stand against 74 autocracies. These countries, in which there are no free elections or functioning rule of law.

For the presentation of the study, the German foundation invited the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, on Monday (18.03.). Referring to the increase in population in Germany as well, Scholz said that he is glad that hundreds of thousands of people came to the protests. "This did not come from above or from the parties. It is right, that we kill the mind for a democracy that knows how to defend itself. But in the end, this is not a theatrical piece, it does not take place on the Internet, but it is us: We must protect democracy. "

According to the study, in 25 countries elections have been less free and fair in the last two years. Two years that have been defined by the geopolitical situation, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and before that the Corona pandemic. In 39 countries, freedom of the press and freedom of thought has been increasingly restricted.

Less and less democratic countries in the world

Albania and Kosovo

In the Transformation Index of the Bertelsmann Foundation, there are also estimates for Albania. In terms of political transformation, Albania does not get a good grade and is considered a "flawed democracy", but it is well evaluated in terms of economic transformation and governance. Albania takes the 21st place, while Kosovo takes the 37th place among 137 countries that are seen as developing or expanding countries in the ranking of the aspect of political transformation, where the rule of law, stability of institutions, political participation and political and social integration are taken into consideration. . "The challenge for the institutional transformation in Albania in stable and solid reforms requires the commitment of local actors for the implementation of the reforms."

Less and less democratic countries in the world

"The pandemic has had a reinforcing effect"

Sabine Donner is one of the authors of the study. She speaks for "Deutsche Welle" about the effect that the Corona pandemic has had on democratic developments, during which some rights were temporarily restricted and there was a ban on movement. "The pandemic was an opportunity to further limit rights and concentrate more power on governments. But in principle, the pandemic did not create problems that did not exist before."

According to data from the Bertelsmann Foundation, this is the largest and most extensive study of its kind. The basis for it are 5000 pages of reports from the countries, which the foundation has examined with 300 experts, universities and study institutes in about 120 countries. In focus the state of democracy, economic development, and governance. All categories are at the lowest point of development.

Positive: Democracies are slowly waking up

But according to researcher Donner, we should not be discouraged, despite the negative news. She also observes another phenomenon: in consolidated democracies there is a growing awareness that the world is becoming less and less free. "In the last two to four years, people and governments, democratic countries, we in Germany have also become more aware that there are authoritarian challenges. There is more awareness than ten years ago, but we also allowed this, I believe. "

Less and less democratic countries in the world

Are democracies too slow and inflexible?

Authoritarian rulers justify their action willingly with the claim that democracies are too sleepy, slow and unable to keep up with global competition. The study contradicts this after evaluation: If efficient governance is evaluated during the pandemic for example, then disorganized and corrupt regimes like Cambodia, Venezuela or Zimbabwe come out with poor results. The 45 countries with the lowest effectiveness are all non-democratic countries. According to Sabine Donner, it was shown especially in China during the pandemic that democracies no longer act wisely. "We saw this during the pandemic, when it became clear that fairly strict lockdowns were not working, that there were large protests despite major repression. Even autocracies can come under pressure when the population is not happy with the results."

Less and less democratic countries in the world

The key lies in civic engagement

A decisive factor for a less autocratic development is the civil commitment of the people to free elections, freedom of the press and separation of powers. If there is constant pressure, authoritarian tendencies can be pushed back. The study lists examples from recent elections in Kenya and Zambia. But also positive trends in Europe, such as in Poland and Moldova.

Cultural and religious influences play a lesser role. Can Muslim countries like the Gulf repel autocracies with their own powers? According to Sabine Donner "I don't know of any argument why this can't work. Take Taiwan or South Korea, for example, which were ruled autocratically for a long time and were first economically modernized. Now they are stable and successful democracies . There is no automatism preventing this."

Conclusion of the study: With democracy and the rule of law, all countries do better in the end. And where democracy works, the study says, governments need more than ever to seek the consensus of broad groups of the population. Although this is difficult in an increasingly polarized climate./ DW