“Liberty, equality, fraternity”
These are the values that underpin democracy—the dominant form of government today. In 1941 there were only 11 democracies; today nearly six-tenths of the world’s nations are democratic. Yet this is no cause for celebration.
A study conducted in 2017 by Freedom House, an American think-tank, found that for the 12th consecutive year, countries that saw a decrease in their democracy index outnumber those with an increase. The Economist Intelligence Unit states that the democracy index of 89 countries has diminished, compared to only 27 improving. In emerging economies, according to the “Transformation Index” of the Bertelsmann Foundation, another think-tank, the quality of democracy is at its lowest level in the last 12 years. Such studies do not simply measure the presence of democracy (i.e. the sovereignty of the people); they also account the degree of liberal democracy—the existence of a freely elected government preserving the individual rights of its residents, respecting the rule of law and maintaining the separation of state powers.
This distinction between liberal democracy and a non-liberal democracy is key indication of today’s world’s issues with democracy and its backsliding into authoritarianism: democracies are still having elections, yet the protection of peoples’ liberties (e.g. individual and minority rights) and the resilience of independent institutions (e.g. justice system) are slipping. Poland’s de facto leader, Jarosław Kacyński, is ousting his opponents in Poland’s judiciary system by lowering their retirement age. According to the Human Rights Watch, in his “war on drugs”, president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, killed more than 12,000 people—many of them extrajudicially. Turkey’s president, Recep Erdogan, has jailed around 200,000 people for their alleged involvement with the Gulen Movement—an Islamist sect that attempted to overthrow Turkey’s government in a coup in 2016, according to Erdogan. Proof for arrests included holding an account in a Gulen-owned bank, attending a Gulen school or even possessing $1 bills. Yet all these politicians were elected democratically or are part of a legal, power-holding political party; they abide by democracy but not liberal democracy.
Today, authoritarians—or politicians with authoritarian tendencies—are gaining power thanks to economic and social plight. Poland is facing an identity crisis following its break from communism: Jarosław is using it to enforce his policies (i.e. claiming return to traditional, pre-communist values). Duterte campaigned on “drug war” policy—promising to eradicate drug crimes from society. Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro—who has, during multiple occasions, expressed positive views of torture and military presence in government—swore to revitalize Brazil’s economy and purge government corruption. Aspiring authoritarians have turned to populism.
Times of social and economic weakness are precious for populists. They permit them to win elections by proposing no new policies, but by gaining support through fear-mongering and nationalism. In a position of power, they effectuate political changes in order to secure their influence. The menace today is that since these authoritarians are populists, the population adores them—despite their infringement of democratic values. In fact, most voters support these aspiring authoritarians for their illiberal spirit. Simply listen to cheers at a Trump rally after he expresses desire to kill journalists, or watch interviews of Russians gleefully supporting Putin’s controversial “anti-gay propaganda law”, which basically proscribes public mention of homosexuality under the pretext of it being propaganda.
The nature of authoritarianism has changed. Totalitarian dictatorship—like in Iran and North Korea—is fading. Instead, today’s authoritarians are populists cleverly and sneakily dismantling democratic institutions thanks to the populace’s support. Iranians protest against their dictatorial regime, yet the power of the aforementioned populists is growing; people support them not despite but for their authoritarian tendencies. Thus, resilience from democratic institutions (i.e. justice system, free press, senate etc…), strong anti-populist voter turnout at major elections and effective anti-populist political coalitions (e.g. France’s Populaire Front coalition against Fascism and Nationalism in the 1930’s) are necessary to protect liberal democracy—the only democracy that truly matters.