Be it the closing of borders by European countries or Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, the past few years have been exceedingly bad for democracy — and global freedom as a whole. Even Facebook has admitted, albeit sheepishly, about the negative impact the social network has had on democracy in recent times.
These stories are the ones that most of us may have come across, but they are not just isolated incidents affecting democracy. In fact, democracy around the globe has been on a decline — a trend that has continued for the past decade, according to a survey by Freedom House, a private organization based in the U.S. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights.
2017 is the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
Published this month, their report titled “Freedom in the World 2018” takes an in-depth look at democracy and how it is practiced around the world. The report’s findings are dire and show that democracy is facing a serious crisis, and it’s only getting worse.
What do they mean by “Democracy”?
Democracy, as considered by the Freedom World report, includes guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law. The organization takes a number of factors into consideration and assigns every country a tag — Free, Partly Free or Free. Each country also receives an aggregate score out of 100 (0 being the worst, and 100 being the best).
Finland, Norway, and Sweden nagged the top spots with a perfect (100) aggregate score. Meanwhile, Syria (shattered by civil war), South Sudan (also suffering from a civil war) and Eritrea (a hermetic police state) were ranked the Worst of the Worst. These are the countries that are facing a near-total lack of political rights and civil liberties.
While Turkey and Hungary, both of which have shifted to a more authoritarian form of government, have fueled this decline, some of the world’s most powerful democracies have also faced major issues — from social and economic disparities to partisan fragmentation, terrorist attacks, and an influx of refugees that has strained alliances and increased fears.
Political rights and civil liberties around the world deteriorated to their lowest point in more than a decade in 2017, extending a period characterized by emboldened autocrats, beleaguered democracies, and the United States’ withdrawal from its leadership role in the global struggle for human freedom.
All of these have led to the rise of populist leaders, or as in the case of the United States, demagogues — a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices instead of using rational argument.
The very idea of democracy and its promotion has been tarnished among many, contributing to a dangerous apathy.
The number of free countries, instead of rising, has fallen over the past decade — only 45% of the countries included in the research were free, as compared to around 47.5% in 2007. This disappointing decline comes after two impressive decades of major gains and signals a troubling trend.
The Freedom Report 2018 gave an Aggregate Score of 43 (out of 100) to Pakistan with a Press and Net Freedom Status of Not Free.
Pakistan received a similar rating in 2017, and a 41/100 rating in 2016, which shows that progress has been at a standstill.
The full report for Pakistan’s performance last year isn’t available yet — we will update the article as soon as it is published.
Pakistan’s score may be better than neighboring countries like Afghanistan (26), Iran (17) and China (14), but it still pales in comparison to the strides made by India — which has an aggregate score of 77. It also has a Press and Net Freedom status of Partly Free as well as a higher per capita income.
Image — DailyKos