- Author: Larry Diamond
- Affiliation: Hoover Institution, Stanford University
- Organization /Publisher: Foreign Affairs
- Date/Place: July/August 2019, U.S.
- Type of Literature: Article
- Word Count: 4178
- Link: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2019-06-11/democracy-demotion
Brief:
The author argues that the rise and fall of democracy in post-cold war era, the rule of law, civil liberties, and electoral rights have been declining. While looking inward to the US economic malaise, the parents-children income ratio fell down from 92% to 50% between 1940 and 1980. The people’s trust deficit on the current government had decreased from 64% to 49%. They believed that the United States is in “real danger of becoming a nondemocratic, authoritarian country.” The author pointed out that Trump’s disregard for democratic norms is contributing to a growing dangerous sense of license among dictators worldwide. The silence on the brutal crackdown in Egypt by Abdel Fattah el- Sisi, as well as the brutal assassination of journalist Jemal Khashoggi by MBS are in effect demoting democracies. In this era of “Global Democratic Recession” the United States needs to revive the political strategies at home as well as in the outside world through “constructive vigilance” by keeping their doors open for others and countering the malign authoritarian campaigns of disinformation, societal penetration, and ideological warfare. He argues that such tactics would be critical for the defense of democracy. He further advocates for the need for an information agency staffed by a permanent, nimble, technologically innovative corps of information professionals to ensure transparency of the system.
