Democracies in crisis due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought crises for democracies around the world. Since the coronavirus outbreak began, the condition of democracy and human rights has worsened in many countries. Governments have responded by engaging in abuses of power, silencing their critics, and weakening or shuttering important institutions, often undermining the very systems of accountability needed to protect public health. This is the conclusion reached by recent Freedom House research concerning the impact of COVID-19 on democracy and human rights. This report is the first of its kind and the most in-depth effort to date to examine the state of democracies during the pandemic. Click on the link below to access and download the report. 

https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-report/2020/democracy-under-lockdown

On our website you will find additional background information about democracy in general. Click here: https://www.living-democracy.com/textbooks/volume-1/part-1/unit-1/chapter-1

It’s obvious these days: No matter how long the democratic tradition has existed in a country, nor how it has developed, nothing can be taken for granted. In every country, democratic practices and the basic understanding of human rights, have to be continuously cultivated and developed to meet the challenges that every generation faces.