Democracy around the world is in retreat, freedoms of expression, choice, and the media are being affected. This was reported by Seema Sha from the Stockholm International Democracy Institute to MEPs from the European Parliament's subcommittees on human rights and the protection of democracy, BTA reported.
According to her, the phenomenon affects civil liberties and access to justice, the independence of justice, and the predictability of legislation. She added that the institute has recently observed the most significant deterioration of the media environment since 1975, including due to increasingly frequent actions against journalists.
Defenders of democracy propose improving institutions, while those inclined to authoritarianism spread ideas that justify the need for extraordinary solutions to today's challenges, summarized Professor Richard Youngs of the College of Europe. He pointed out that authoritarian regimes are becoming increasingly attractive in the eyes of many around the world.
Youngs outlined five main authoritarian ideas spread today - that there is a need for "expert" governance, because modern challenges are so complex that they can only be solved by experts, and citizens could not cope on their own; democracy has gone "too far" and no longer takes into account the public interest; authoritarian regimes are better able to cope with constant crises and instability; governments need extraordinary powers to overcome crises in democracies; societies need "traditional values" and liberalism has begun to impose itself on society.
Such ideas are not new, but today there is a wave of authoritarian thinking, Youngs summarized. According to him, the EU is doing what is necessary to support democratic countries around the world, but it must start clearly challenging authoritarian ideas and provide the necessary funds for this when determining the budget for foreign policy activities.