The overall state of democracy in the U.S. declined last year, according to an annual ranking released Wednesday by The Economist’s Intelligence Unit, which cited the continuing erosion of confidence in the country’s institutions.
The US has retained its rank as the 25th democratic nation, out of 167 countries analyzed but remaining in the category of “flawed democracy” after being demoted from the “full democracy” group in 2016, reads the report.
According to The Economist, Norway was the democracy with the highest ranking.
The report measures five main categories – electoral process and pluralism; Civil liberties; the operation of the government; political participation; and political culture – and award points to each.
The overall US score of 7.92 was lower than 7.96 the previous year. Norway’s score was 9.81 in 2020.
‘The US overall performance is hampered by a number of weaknesses, including extremely low confidence in institutions and political parties; deep dysfunction in the functioning of government; increasing threats to freedom of expression; and a degree of societal polarization that makes consensus on any issue nearly impossible, ”the report reads.
The report highlights the efforts of former President Trump
Donald Trump: Georgia’s Secretary of State is investigating Lin Wood’s illegal voting rights. and its allies to challenge the 2020 election results in several states with unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud.
According to the report, these efforts follow increasing trends in other countries “to challenge the outcome of elections and referendums, and to discredit the outcome by asserting external interference and giving credence to conspiracy theories.”
The US has improved its score for political participation, however, because the coronavirus pandemic, movements for racial justice and other important events fueled a high level of participation in the 2020 election.
In addition to the U.S. findings, the report recorded the lowest average global democracy score since the index was first published in 2006. The Economist attributed the decline primarily to “government restrictions on individual freedoms and civil liberties that have occurred worldwide in response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
“Across the globe by 2020, citizens have experienced the greatest return of individual freedoms that governments have ever undertaken in peacetime,” the report said. “Most people, based on the evidence of a new, deadly disease, have come to the conclusion that preventing a catastrophic loss of life justifies a temporary loss of freedom.”
As of Wednesday, COVID-19 has infected more than 104 million people worldwide, with about 2.2 million dying from the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.