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Just as many Americans are feeling better about the state of our democracy, it appears that democracy in some parts of the world is not faring so well. In the release of its annual survey of political rights and civil liberties, Freedom House, an independent U.S. non-profit organization in support of freedom and democracy the world over, begins its report with the following: "Global freedom suffered its third year of decline in 2008 ... with sub-Saharan Africa and the non-Baltic former Soviet Union experiencing the most acute deterioration."
This is troubling news, indeed. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, democratic trends were heading in the right direction. There was the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall fell, unifying Germany. We witnessed the liberation of Eastern Europe and growth of Asian democracies in Japan and South Korea. There was hope for a renaissance in African leadership after South Africa's election of Nelson Mandela. A growing number of people were able to more freely participate in political processes, express themselves, and organize without fear of reprisal. Today, there are disconcerting signs of a retreat. So what accounts for the decline in freedom over the past several years? It is easy to blame George Bush for all the world's current troubles. We are getting good at it. But on this issue, that would be a cop out.
