Q1/2021 - Freedom House

Annual Report Global Democracy , 3. März 2021

Der am 3. März 2021 veröffentliche neue Bericht von „Freedom House“ zum Zustand der Demokratie in der Welt konstatiert, dass in den letzten anderthalb Jahrzehnten Freiheit und Demokratie, einschließlich der Internet-Freiheiten, Jahr für Jahr mehr eingeschränkt wurden. „The global decline in democracy has accelerated“[1]. Der Bericht hat 195 Länder untersucht. 54 Länder, in denen ein Drittel der Weltbevölkerung lebt, werden als „nicht frei“ bezeichnet. Die Covid-19-Pandemie hat den globalen Trend zur Einschränkung demokratischer Rechte und Freiheiten beschleunigt. Dieser Trend zeigt sich auch in Ländern, die bislang als „frei“ galten wie die USA (die 2020 unter der Trump-Administration noch als „frei“ gelistet wird, aber beim Ranking drei Plätze verlor) oder die EU-Mitglieder Polen, Ungarn und Slowenien.

Mehr zum Thema
Q1/2021Freedom House
  1. [1] New Report: The global decline in democracy has accelerated, 3. März: „Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the global democratic decline… Authoritarian actors grew bolder during 2020 as major democracies turned inward, contributing to the 15th consecutive year of decline in global freedom, according to Freedom in the World 2021, the annual country-by-country assessment of political rights and civil liberties released today by Freedom House. …The report found that the share of countries designated Not Free has reached its highest level since the deterioration of democracy began in 2006, and that countries with declines in political rights and civil liberties outnumbered those with gains by the largest margin recorded during the 15-year period. The report downgraded the freedom scores of 73 countries, representing 75 percent of the global population. Those affected include not just authoritarian states like China, Belarus, and Venezuela, but also troubled democracies like the United States and India. Autocratic regimes and populist leaders worked to reduce transparency, promote false or misleading information, and crack down on the sharing of unfavorable data or critical views. Many of those who voiced objections to their government’s handling of the pandemic faced harassment or criminal charges. Lockdowns were sometimes excessive, politicized, or brutally enforced by security agencies. And antidemocratic leaders worldwide used the pandemic as cover to weaken the political opposition and consolidate power. In fact, many of the year’s negative developments will likely have lasting effects, meaning the eventual end of the pandemic will not necessarily trigger an immediate revitalization of democracy.” In: https://freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-global-decline-democracy-has-accelerated