US joins annual list of 'backsliding' democracies for first time: Reports

The United States has been included in the annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) informed this in its report on Monday, citing a "visible deterioration" that began in 2019, reported Al Jazeera. The annual assessment of the Stockholm-based organisation is based on 50 years of democratic indicators. About 160 countries are divided into three groups: democracies, including "backsliding" democracies, "hybrid" governments, and authoritarian regimes. According to the report, more than one in every four people lives in a "backsliding" democracy, with two-thirds of the world either residing in "backsliding," "hybrid," or authoritarian regimes.

"This year we categorised the United States as backsliding for the first time, although our data suggest that the backsliding episode began back in 2019," stated the report, titled - Global State of Democracy 2021. 

The report stated that a historic turning point came in 2020-21 when former President Donald Trump questioned the authenticity of the United States' 2020 election results. The report referred to a campaign by the former President and his supporters to overturn the results of the 2020 US election, with Trump's supporters storming the US legislature's chamber in January. The report also mentioned rising polarization in the United States, as well as state voting regulations that disproportionately harm minorities.

'No. of backsliding democracies doubled in last decade'

According to the report, the number of countries with backsliding democracies has doubled in the last decade. The list includes European Union member states Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia, as well as "established democracies" like the United States. Meanwhile, Ukraine and North Macedonia, who were on the list last year, were removed this year following the improvement in their conditions. In addition. countries like Turkey, Nicaragua, Serbia, Poland, and Brazil were ranked as having the most significant democratic deterioration in the recent decade. 

The report further claimed that in 2020, the world had 98 democracies, with 20 "hybrid" governments including Russia, Morocco, and Turkey, and 47 authoritarian regimes including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tendency toward democratic erosion has become more serious and concerning, noted the report. "Some countries, including Hungary, India, the Philippines, and the United States, have adopted measures that are disproportionate, illegal, indefinite, or unrelated to the nature of the emergency," claimed the report, according to Al Jazeera. 

(Image: AP)