Europe maintains fragile democratic stability amid global decline, new study finds
Despite divisions between east and west, Europe's standards of functioning democracy remain high, even as global standards decline, according to a study released on Thursday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The latest Democracy Index shows that after a year of elections worldwide, global democracy has weakened, with 2024 continuing a trend of "democratic malaise", the report finds.
'While autocracies seem to be gaining strength, as shown by the index trend since 2006, the world's democracies are struggling,' Joan Hoey, director for the Democracy Index said in a release.
The annual study assesses five categories - electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, political culture - giving each country a score out of 10.
Based on this, countries are classified as full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, or authoritarian regimes. This year, Norway topped the rankings with 9.81, while Afghanistan ranked lowest at 0.25.
The sharpest declines were in government functioning and electoral process, with the average for the latter falling by 0.08 points compared to 2023, which the study considers 'was especially disappointing given that so many countries went to the polls in 2024'.
Europe presented a mixed picture. Eastern Europe saw a slight decline, while Western Europe improved by a marginal 0.01 points.
Nine of the world's top ten democracies are in Europe, with New Zealand the only exception in second place.
Western Europe remains the highest-rated region and the only one to recover to pre-pandemic levels. However, the report highlights widespread public discontent, fuelling a shift towards anti-mainstream parties.
According to the study, 'this dissatisfaction is fuelling a growing shift towards anti-mainstream parties, a trend widely illustrated by the many elections across the continent in 2024'. It adds that these elections were marked by a clear rejection of incumbent leaders and a surge in support for anti-establishment and populist political forces.
There were notable shifts within the region: Portugal was upgraded to a "full democracy", while France slipped into the "flawed" category.
Portugal was first downgraded in 2011 and recovered the status of a 'full democracy' in 2019. However, the EUI after considering the limitations on personal freedom resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic downgraded it again in 2020.
France has also been close to the threshold score of 8.00 that separates 'full' from "flawed democracies", falling to the second category in 2010-13, 2015-18 and 2020-21, during what the EUI classifies as "periods of political turbulence in which the administration has faced widespread social unrest and/or internal divisions over policy, which undermined governance'.
The report concludes that France's downgrade this year reflects a deterioration in the score for confidence in government.
Eastern Europe, grouped with Central Asia in the report, saw 'the mildest regression of any region' declining by 0.02 points, to 5.35.
This region saw a milestone as the Czech Republic and Estonia were upgraded from 'flawed democracies' to 'full democracies', gaining full democratic rating for the first time since 2013 when Czech Republic fell from the top category.
By contrast, this year saw Romania downgraded from 'flawed democracy' to 'hybrid regime' status, after the cancellation of the presidential election resulted in the country dropping 12 places in the ranking.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
US health secretary ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has fired every member of a vital scientific committee, that advises the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on how to use vaccines, pledging to replace them with his own staff. His actions have come under the radar with various groups having criticised his decision, which they feel may endanger the future use of vaccines in the US. Major physicians in the country have slammed the decision to oust all 17 members of the panel. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and former director of the CDC, accused Kennedy of 'politicising' the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP), warning that it could undermine public trust established through years of commitment and hard work. 'We'll look back at this as a grave mistake that sacrificed decades of scientific rigour, undermined public trust, and opened the door for fringe theories rather than facts,' he added. But Kennedy insists the decision was taken on merit since several members had many conflicts of interest while they were holding a position on the board. Members are currently required to declare any potential such conflicts, as well as business interests, that arise during their tenure. They also must disclose any possible conflicts at the start of each public meeting. Although it's typically not viewed as a partisan board, the entire current roster of committee members were Biden appointees. The health secretary said in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration would not have been able to appoint new members until 2028 without removing the current roster. 'A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science,' said Kennedy Jr. Frieden says the health secretary's actions were based on false conflict of interest claims and sets 'a dangerous and unprecedented action that makes our families less safe' by potentially reducing vaccine access for millions of people. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association (APHA) called the ouster 'a coup.' Bruce Scott of the American Medical Association (AMA) warned the decision could lead to lower vaccination rates and more disease outbreaks. Scott also called the ACIP a trusted source of science- and data-driven advice and said Kennedy's move, coupled with declining vaccination rates across the country, will help drive an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases. Kennedy has long been a staunch critic of vaccination programmes, gaining popularity as one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists, prior to his appointment as top US health official. Last month, he changed the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines – without first consulting the committee – removing it as a recommended vaccination for children and pregnant women, leaving that decision in the hands of patients. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a security meeting on Wednesday following his phone call with US President Donald Trump. Israeli media says the call between Trump and Netanyahu lasted around 40 minutes, with the pair discussing a wide range of topics, from the war on Gaza to developments in the Iran nuclear deal. Asked about his call with Netanyahu, Trump didn't offer much detail, but insisted that the call with the Israeli premier went well. "Very well. Yeah, we discussed a lot of things, and it went very well. Very smooth. We'll see what happens. You know, we're trying to do something with a country we just spoke about, Iran,' said Trump. Trump however revealed that negotiations appear to be stagnant due to the Iranians being 'good negotiators'. He also again warned that a violent US approach to Tehran is not off the table. 'Sometimes they can be too tough. That's the problem. So, we are trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death. And we've told them that, and I've told them that, and I hope that's the way it works out. But it might not work out that way." Joining the security meeting with Netanyahu – according to Israeli media – are Defence Minister Israel Katz, Shas party chairperson Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. Far-right figures who will also reportedly be taking part in the meeting include National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Ben Gvir and Smotrich are not typically included in such high-level meetings. The meeting comes as Tehran is expected to respond to Washington's proposal for a nuclear deal. The Iranian response is expected to arrive in the form of a counter to the US proposal. Washington has reportedly proposed to allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium, but at low levels and for a limited time period. This will then be halted when a consortium is established for the enrichment of uranium for Iran and other countries outside of Iranian territory. Tehran is expected to reject this proposal, with rumours emerging that Iranian officials will not accept a deal in which they're told what to do on their own territory.
Fashion Network
6 hours ago
- Fashion Network
US and Chinese officials meet in London for pivotal trade talks
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the U.S. team wanted a handshake from China on rare earths after President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to resume shipments in a rare call between the two presidents last week. "The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes," Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview. He said the U.S. would expect export controls to be eased and rare earths released in volume immediately afterwards. The London talks, expected to continue into the evening on Monday, come at a crucial time for both economies, which are showing signs of strain from Trump's cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January. Customs data showed that China's exports to the U.S. plunged 34.5% year-on-year in May in value terms, the sharpest drop since February 2020, when the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic upended global trade. In the U.S., business and household confidence has taken a pummeling, while first-quarter gross domestic product contracted due to a record surge in imports as Americans front-loaded purchases to beat anticipated price increases. But for now, the impact on inflation has been muted, and the jobs market has remained fairly resilient, though economists expect cracks to become more apparent over the summer. Attending the talks in London are U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The Chinese contingent led by Vice Premier He Lifeng includes Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and the ministry's chief trade negotiator, Li Chenggang. The inclusion of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the U.S., is one indication of how central rare earths have become, and some analysts saw it as a sign that Trump is willing to put recently imposed Commerce Department export restrictions on the table. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in electric vehicle motors. Lutnick did not attend the Geneva talks at which the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other. Trump and Xi spoke by phone last week, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration. During the call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media the talks focused primarily on trade led to "a very positive conclusion," setting the stage for Monday's meeting in the British capital. The next day, Trump said Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the U.S. of rare earths minerals and magnets, and Reuters reported that China has granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. Kelly Ann Shaw, a former White House trade adviser during Trump's first term, said that the U.S. was arguing that China's continued export control restrictions violated the agreement in Geneva to remove retaliatory measures. "What I expect to see announced in the next few hours is effectively a reaffirmation of China's commitment, plus some concessions on the U.S. side, with respect to export controls measures over the past week or two," said Shaw, a trade partner at the Akin Gump law firm in Washington. But Shaw said she expected the U.S. only to agree to lift some new export curbs, not longstanding ones such as for advanced artificial intelligence chips. Reuters reported on May 28 that the U.S. ordered a halt to shipments of semiconductor design software and chemicals and aviation equipment, revoking export licenses that had been previously issued. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures" that the U.S. wanted the two sides to build on the progress made in Geneva in the hope they could move towards more comprehensive trade talks. The preliminary deal in Geneva sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and U.S. indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. But Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, said while a temporary truce was possible, there was little prospect for the bilateral relationship to become constructive given broader decoupling trends and continued U.S. pressure on other countries to take China out of their supply chains. "Everyone around Trump is still hawkish and so a breakthrough U.S.-China trade deal is unlikely, especially in the context of other deals that are further along and prioritized," he said in an analyst note.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
US health secretary dismisses entire vaccine advisory panel
The decision to remove all 17 experts of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was unveiled in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and an official press release. Kennedy cast the overhaul as essential to rebuilding public trust, accusing the panel of being compromised by financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. "Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda," he said in the statement from the Department of Health and Human Services. "The public must know that unbiased science -- evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest -- guides the recommendations of our health agencies." In his op-ed, Kennedy claimed the panel had been "plagued with persistent conflicts of interest" and had become "little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine." He said new members were being considered to replace the outgoing experts, who had been appointed for their recognized expertise and were required to submit conflict-of-interest disclosures. Kennedy has spent the past two decades promoting vaccine misinformation, including the widely debunked claim that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot causes autism. Since taking office, he has curtailed access to Covid-19 vaccines and continued to sow doubts about the MMR shot -- even as the United States experiences its worst measles outbreak in years, with three reported deaths and more than 1,100 cases. Experts warn the number of official cases may vastly understate the true toll of the measles outbreak.
