Video & Podcast: The Global March Towards Authoritarianism & Will the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Reverse It?

A new study from Freedom House entitled “The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule” documents a global trend away from democracy and towards authoritarianism. The introductory paragraphs outline their findings and give some examples of democratic decline around the world in recent years. It then declares:

The current state of global freedom should raise alarm among all who value their own rights and those of their fellow human beings. To reverse the decline, democratic governments need to strengthen domestic laws and institutions while taking bold, coordinated action to support the struggle for democracy around the world. In less free countries, democrats must unite to resist the encroachment of unchecked power and work toward expanding freedom for all individuals. Only global solidarity among democracy’s defenders can successfully counter the combined aggression of its adversaries.

The study contains some interesting insights into this worldwide shift towards authoritarianism, but its inside-the-beltway bias presents itself in its lack of economic analysis which might explain why immiserated populations around the world have lost trust in democracy to begin with.

We discuss both the merits and the shortcomings of the report in our video & audio podcasts below, available exclusively to paid subscribers. We also speculate about whether or not the Russia-Ukraine conflict will rally western allies enough to the point that democracy makes a global comeback in the coming years.