“This year we coded the United States as backsliding for the first time, but our data suggest that the backsliding episode began at least in 2019”

No American – woke or unwoke, engaged or disengaged, patriot or traitor – should be surprised by results of a study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) which finds that the United States of America is a “backsliding” democracy.

“The visible deterioration of democracy in the United States, as seen in the increasing tendency to contest credible election results, the efforts to suppress participation (in elections), and the runaway polarisation … is one of the most concerning developments.”

According to IDEA’S analysis, 2020, globally, is the fifth consecutive year that countries moving closer to authoritarianism outnumber those edging toward democratisation. They don’t expect to find (positive) change in 2021.

IDEA studied 50 years of “democratic indicators” in approximately 160 countries, listing them in three categories: democracies (including the backsliders), ‘hybrid’ governments and authoritarian regimes.

Backsliding democracies have doubled in the past decade, which accounts for one quarter of the world’s population. Among backsliding “established democracies”, the U.S. finds itself in the company of nations such as Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.

The IDEA report is a good – some might say necessary – read. Summary here (pdf).