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Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism.

The Covid-19 pandemic initially broke out in the Asia and the Pacific region in late 2019, with the first cases in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has served as a magnifier of pre-existing democratic strengths and weaknesses within governing systems around Asia and the Pacific. In the majority of cases, the region’s hybrid and authoritarian regimes tightened their grip on society in response to the pandemic. Quality of democracy continued to decline in number of region’s democracies.

Recent declines in democracy have undermined some of the remarkable progress made in Africa over the past three decades, although bright spots remain. The Covid-19 pandemic, though seemingly less damaging to public health than elsewhere in the world, has added pressure on governance, rights, and social inequality. The report also covers the Middle East and North Africa which is one of the least democratic regions in the world.

Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated these threats through the imposition of states of emergency, the spread of disinformation, and crackdowns on independent media and freedom of expression.

For more than a decade, a majority of Europe’s established democracies have seen the quality of their democracies stagnate—or even decline—rather than improve. Some show the clear erosion of democratic processes and fundamental rights; several have deteriorated to the point where they can hardly be qualified as democracies any longer. The arrival of the Covid-19 global health crisis has added to the strain.

International IDEA’s Annual Review of Constitution-Building Processes: 2020 provides a retrospective account of constitutional reform processes around the world and from a comparative perspective, and their implications for national and international politics.

International IDEA celebró un seminario web para presentar su nuevo documento de debate titulado "La democracia y el desafío del cambio climático" el 26 de octubre de 2021. El evento presentó el documento y brindó una plataforma para discutir las fortalezas de las democracias y las herramientas innovadoras a su disposición para abordar la crisis climática.

International IDEA held a webinar to launch its new Discussion Paper entitled "Democracy and the Challenge of Climate Change” on 26 October 2021. The event presented the Paper and provided a platform to discuss the strengths of democracies and innovative tools available to them to tackle the climate crisis.

‘Leave no one behind’ (LNOB) is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, SDG 5—‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’—is an intrinsic enabler for sustainable development and representative democracy for each country and the world at large.

The root causes of conflict and violence, such as injustice, inequalities and decline in the quality of democracies, rarely emerge and remain within the national borders of a single country: they increasingly spill over into surrounding regions, compelling a regional response.

El secretario general de IDEA Internacional, Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, participó en un debate de CO.OP LAB titulado “Amenazas crecientes a la democracia y los derechos humanos”, organizado por la Dirección de Cooperación para el Desarrollo de la OCDE el 14 de septiembre de 2021.

The Secretary-General of International IDEA, Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, participated in a CO.OP LAB discussion entitled “Rising Threats to Democracy and Human Rights”, organized by OECD Development Co-operation Directorate on 14 September 2021.

When risks materialize and vulnerabilities exist, crises occur. Preparedness is what separates those who are overwhelmed with the turn of events from those who can effectively prevent, withstand and resolve difficult situations.

With the growing evidence of democratic backsliding, and understanding that democracies are vulnerable in times of crises, initiatives to protect the integrity of electoral processes and results they yield become ever more important.

Climate change poses an existential threat for humanity and has become the defining issue of our time. The outcome of the climate crisis will depend on whether democracies can drastically reduce their carbon footprints in the coming years. Climate change already has an impact on democratic governance through its effects on food security, conflicts, water scarcity. migration and natural disasters, among other consequences.

This Discussion Paper was drafted for an International IDEA webinar on Taming the Incumbency Advantage (25 May 2021), the first of a series on innovative constitutional design options. It has been revised and updated to reflect contributions from webinar participants: Professor Juvence F. Ramasy (Madagascar), Professor Ridwanul Hoque (Bangladesh) and Professor Gabriel Negretto (Latin America), among others.

On 15 August, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a snap election. This September election, a full two years before the next elections were due, was an opportunistic move. As leader of the Liberal Party, Trudeau had been governing with a plurality (but not a majority) of the seats in the House of Commons since 2019. In the summer of 2021, the Liberal Party was polling well, and the election call was an attempt to translate that polling support into a majority government.

El secretario general de IDEA Internacional, Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, participó en un panel de discusión el 7 de septiembre de 2021, sobre la mitigación del impacto de la pandemia Covid-19 en la democracia, como parte de la Quinta Conferencia Mundial de Presidentes de Parlamento (5WCSP).

International IDEA’s Secretary-General Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora took part in a panel discussion on 7 September 2021, on mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on democracy, as part of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP).

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the marked centralization and exertion of executive power, and, more broadly, a focus on the response of other elected organs. However, the pandemic has also shone a light on the key roles played by unelected independent institutions and international bodies, from public health actors to courts to international organizations and beyond. Constitutional INSIGHTS No.

Countries with a federal form of government responded in distinctive ways to the health and economic crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Constitutional INSIGHTS No.7 explores what can be learned from this experience about the purposes, design and operation of federations, including for the division and allocation of powers and fiscal resources; collaboration and cooperation between levels of government; and the challenges of democratic accountability.