Hollywood films often justify that as the leader of the free world – democracy – the United States can basically do anything, including staging an invasion on foreign nations which do not subscribe to American version of democracy. However, if the latest report from the Economist Intelligence Unit is any indicator, the U.S. isn’t even a “full democracy” nation.

 

Interestingly, superpower United States was already downgraded from a “full democracy” to a “flawed democracy” in 2016. For the second consecutive year, the 2017 Democracy Index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) shows that not only the U.S. has retained its position as a flawed democracy; the country is in danger of sliding further.

 

The research firm’s annual study of global democracy, released on Wednesday, showed the U.S. is ranked 21st in 2017 – the same position as the previous year and sharing the place with Italy. To be categorised as “full” democracy, a country must scores above 8.0. Apparently, the U.S. scores only 7.98 and is worse than Austria (8.42) and Uruguay (8.12).

The study is based on 5 criteria:

• Electoral process and pluralism – whether elections are free and fair
• Functioning of government – the existence of check and balance
• Political participation – whether citizens are included in politics
• Political culture – whether citizens support their government
• Civil liberties – whether people enjoy freedom of expression

 

Although President Trump was not to be blamed for the “flawed democracy” award in 2016 because the report was revealed shortly after he stunningly won the presidential election (Donald Trump was inaugurated on 20th January, 2017), obviously the 2017 Democracy Index which put the U.S. in the flawed democracy category – again – is somehow related to him.

 

According to EIU, “flawed democracies” have free and fair elections (with possibly some issues such as infringements on media freedom) and respect basic civil liberties. However, there are governance problems and low levels of political participation. Prior to the plunge in the 2016 and 2017 index, the U.S. scored 8.05 in the 2015 Democracy Index.

Therefore, well before Donald Trump took power from Barack Obama, the nation’s public institutions have been experiencing years of declining trust. Under Trump, things have gotten worse. EIU said – “If Mr. Trump is unable to reverse the trend towards increasing social polarization, U.S. democracy will be at greater risk of further deterioration.”

 

It’s debatable whether Trump is solely to be blamed when in reality, the liberals, globalists and Democrats have more often than not provoke the conservatives and Republicans leading to domestic infighting. As a result, Washington fared poorly on the EIU’s “functioning of government” category, one of the five sectors used to assess countries.

 

The report also said – “The U.S. leader may have been elected for his ability to tap into voter discontent on political and economic affairs but it remains to be seen whether he will succeed in easing the ‘deep groundswell of popular disaffection’. So far his attempts to address the concerns of his voters have resulted in a further polarization of U.S. politics.”

Surprisingly, the 2017 Democracy Index reveals that less than 5% of the world’s population lives in “full democracy” while 44.8% of the global population resides in “flawed democracies.” Of the 167 countries involved in the annual assessment, it was found that Asia-Pacific had “experienced the biggest decline of any of seven regions in 2017.”

 

Asia only scored 5.63 – lagging behind North America (8.56), Western Europe (8.38) and Latin America (6.26). And within the region, only Australia and New Zealand are classified as full democracies. The list below is the world’s top-20 best democracy countries, and clearly the United States is not one of them. The consolation prize is this – North Korea remains at the bottom, scoring only 1.08.

 

 

{ 1 } Norway (Score: 9.87 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 9.64
• Political participation: 10.00
• Political culture: 10.00
• Civil liberties: 9.71

 

 

{ 2 } Iceland (Score: 9.58 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 9.29
• Political participation: 8.89
• Political culture: 10.00
• Civil liberties: 9.71

 

 

{ 3 } Sweden (Score: 9.39 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 9.64
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 10.00
• Civil liberties: 9.41

 

 

{ 4 } New Zealand (Score: 9.26 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 9.29
• Political participation: 8.89
• Political culture: 8.13
• Civil liberties: 10.00

 

 

{ 5 } Denmark (Score: 9.22 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 9.29
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 9.38
• Civil liberties: 9.12

 

 

{ 6 } Republic of Ireland (Score: 9.15 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 7.86
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 10.00
• Civil liberties: 10.00

 

 

{ 7 } Canada (Score: 9.15 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 9.64
• Political participation: 7.78
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 10.00

 

 

{ 8 } Australia (Score: 9.09 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 8.93
• Political participation: 7.78
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 10.00

 

 

{ 9 } Finland (Score: 9.03 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 8.93
• Political participation: 7.78
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 9.71

 

 

{ 10 } Switzerland (Score: 9.03 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 9.29
• Political participation: 7.78
• Political culture: 9.38
• Civil liberties: 9.12

 

 

{ 11 } Netherlands (Score: 8.89 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 9.29
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 8.13
• Civil liberties: 9.12

 

 

{ 12 } Luxembourg (Score: 8.81 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 8.93
• Political participation: 6.67
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 9.71

 

 

{ 13 } Germany (Score: 8.61 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 8.21
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 7.50
• Civil liberties: 9.41

 

 

{ 14 } United Kingdom (Score: 8.53 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 7.50
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 8.13
• Civil liberties: 9.12

 

{ 15 } Austria (Score: 8.42 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.58
• Functioning of government: 8.21
• Political participation: 8.33
• Political culture: 6.88
• Civil liberties: 9.12

 

 

{ 16 } Mauritius (Score: 8.22 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.17
• Functioning of government: 8.21
• Political participation: 5.56
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 9.41

 

 

{ 17 } Malta (Score: 8.15 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.17
• Functioning of government: 8.21
• Political participation: 6.11
• Political culture: 8.75
• Civil liberties: 8.53

 

 

{ 18 } Uruguay (Score: 8.12 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 10.00
• Functioning of government: 8.93
• Political participation: 4.44
• Political culture: 7.50
• Civil liberties: 9.71

 

 

{ 19 } Spain (Score: 8.08 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.17
• Functioning of government: 7.14
• Political participation: 7.78
• Political culture: 7.50
• Civil liberties: 8.82

 

 

{ 20 } South Korea (Score: 8.00 / 10)

• Electoral process and pluralism: 9.17
• Functioning of government: 7.86
• Political participation: 7.22
• Political culture: 7.50
• Civil liberties: 8.24

 

 

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February 1st, 2018 by financetwitter

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