Although half of humanity lives in a democracy, according to a study, things are not going well. Authoritarian regimes have become entrenched. Germany is improving in the ranking, but has to be careful.
The state of democracy in the world has deteriorated, according to a recent study. “The increasing incidence of violent conflict has severely affected global democracy values,” said the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the British Economist group. Almost half of the world’s population (45.7 percent) lives in a form of democracy, as shown by the EIU Democracy Index. However, only 7.8 percent of these are in a “full democracy”, while significantly more than a third (39.4 percent) are under authoritarian rule.
As in the previous year, Norway, New Zealand and Iceland took the top places. Germany climbed two places to 12th place out of 167 countries. But that was due to the deterioration in others, they said. North Korea, Myanmar and Afghanistan were at the bottom.
Increase in violent conflicts depresses the index
The study scored five categories from 1 to 10: electoral processes and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties. The global average value fell from 5.29 in the previous year to a low of 5.23 points.
“This global deterioration in the state of democracy was caused in particular by negative developments in non-democracies, such as the rise in violent conflicts and authoritarian attacks there,” it said in a statement. “Authoritarian regimes” have become more entrenched and countries classified as “hybrid regimes” are finding it difficult to democratize.
AfD as the largest Challenge
Germany achieved the best value in the areas of electoral procedures and pluralism. This reflects the openness, transparency and smooth functioning of the electoral system and the transfer of power, it said. The country also does very well when it comes to civil liberties. Things went worse in the area of government functioning. In 2023, the traffic light coalition had difficulty reaching agreement on important political measures, so public approval rates fell. In terms of political culture, Germany faces the greatest challenges given the increasing support for the AfD.
Established parties under pressure
In contrast to all other regions of the world, the average value for Western Europe improved slightly. But the political landscape in America and Europe as a whole has become further polarized, the study concluded. “In more and more countries, trust in the established political parties and their governments is declining.” It was said that there are “culture wars” that have been going on for a long time in the USA. “Western Europe suffers from low trust in government and is polarized on the issue of immigration.”
Political polarization can also be observed in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. “Increasing violent crime has led voters to accept an erosion of democratic norms and civil liberties in exchange for the security of authoritarian-led governments,” it said. An example is the Central American El Salvador. There, President Nayib Bukele is using his success in reducing crime to expand his authoritarian power and undermine civil liberties.