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For a time, it seemed that global democracy was poised to take its place among the great movements of human history. The 21st century was hailed as the age of the people, with many erstwhile authoritarian and hybrid regimes joining the democratic fold. Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, adding to a witches’ brew of headwinds that already battered the health of democracy.
When International IDEA published its second Global State of Democracy Report in 2022, the outlook was grim indeed: More countries had declined than improved over the previous decade. In addition, democracy’s illiberal offshoots (e.g., Russia and China) were growing their political reach and posing challenges to democracy’s universality.
While there is much to be worried about, there are reasons for hope as well. Despite the many setbacks, a number of green offshoots have survived, and even in the worst-case scenario, the decline in democracy is not irreversible. Furthermore, the pandemic evinced some striking examples of democracy’s resilience, including the fact that, in general, elections are more resilient than ever. During the pandemic, 82 out of the 162 scheduled elections were held, and the proportion of postponements decreased as countries and EMBs learned to adapt quickly.
In the face of such a slew of criticism, what should future research on global democracy focus on? A central concern is that defenders of the idea tend to approach democracy as a value, divorced from its context in world politics. It is argued that, to overcome this gap, scholars need to develop concepts of legitimacy that take into account the unique features of world politics, such as stability, sociological acceptance, or jurisprudence.
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