Democracy is in crisis. In 2017, political rights and civil liberties around the world deteriorated to their lowest point in more than a decade. The global landscape is characterized by emboldened autocrats, beleaguered democracies, and the withdrawal of the United States from its leadership role in the global struggle for human freedom. Democratic values—particularly the right to choose leaders in free and fair elections, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—are under assault and in retreat globally.
About the Authors
Michael J. Abramowitz
Michael J. Abramowitzis president of Freedom House. From 2014 to 2017, he was director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Levine Institute for Holocaust Education. He was formerly national editor and White House correspondent for the Washington Post.
Trillions of dollars are stashed in the world’s secret financial system, where they are keeping autocratic regimes afloat and fueling democracy’s decline.
Once mostly found in authoritarian regimes, personalism is now putting established democracies in peril—a trend that digital technology will likely make worse.
Recent survey research suggests that most voters disapprove of antidemocratic acts by elected leaders. Yet there are critical exceptions when a significant minority of voters are sympathetic to or even…
