The Economist Intelligence Unit downgraded the U.S. from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” in the most recent edition of its Democracy Index.
The 2016 report – subtitled “Revenge of the ‘deplorables’” – is the ninth edition of the EIU’s annual Democracy Index. The report provides a measure of how democracy fared around the world each year.
The latest report places the election of President Donald Trump and the Brexit vote at the center of a global trend toward nationalism and disdain for “elites” – the media, politicians, academia, and international organizations.
But Trump’s election in the U.S. was only a symptom of these trends, not its cause. According to Joan Hoey, the report’s editor:
“The US has been downgraded because of a further erosion of trust in government and elected officials. This is not a consequence of Donald Trump. On the contrary, the election of Mr. Trump as U.S. president was in large part a consequence of the longstanding problems of democracy in the US.”
The report outlines these problems in more detail, including:
“…An erosion of confidence in government and public institutions over many years.”
This loss of public trust is not new. A recent Pew Research study traces American distrust in government to the 1960s. Revelations about the government’s underhanded tactics and lies – from the Gulf of Tonkin to COINTELPRO – only multiplied thereafter. With each new revelation, confidence in the government and public institutions declined.
After 9/11, George W. Bush led America into the Second Gulf War, a long and disastrous conflict based on the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were ever found.
As American skepticism of the government, the media, and elite institutions grew, Americans became more willing to accept conspiracy theories and lies from non-elite sources.
Which brings us to Donald Trump. A political outsider, Trump rose to prominence on a raft of lies and empty promises. His attacks on the press only sow further doubts among citizens unable to discern fake news from reality.
To develop the report, the EIU measures countries around the world based on:
- Their levels of political engagement;
- Their levels of civil liberties;
- The fairness of their electoral processes;
- The stability of their democratic political culture,
- And the functioning of their government.
Based on these criteria, each country is assigned to one of four categories, ranked from best to worst:
- Full democracy;
- Flawed democracy;
- Hybrid regime,
- Or authoritarian regime.
Norway ranks at the top of the global democracy ranking. North Korea ranks at the bottom.
Featured image via YouTube video.
