For the past six years, Americans have lived in a “flawed democracy,” one dragged down by high levels of polarization and events like the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, according to an annual study of global democracy.
The latest edition of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index ranks the United States 26th of 167 countries, sandwiched between Chile and Estonia, when measuring electoral process, government functionality, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
On a 10-point scale, the U.S. earned 7.85 points — slightly down from last year’ 7.92 and the nation’s lowest score since the EIU created the index in 2006. The United States also dropped one spot in the rankings over the past year.
The researchers pinned the United States’ low score on two factors, both of which are tied to polarization: functioning of government and political culture.
“Pluralism and competing alternatives are essential for a functioning democracy, but differences of opinion in the US have hardened into political sectarianism and institutional gridlock,” they wrote, explaining why the U.S. score for government functionality had hit a new low point.
The narrowly divided Congress “has further crippled the legislative process, particularly as Democrats contend with widening divisions between their moderate and hard-line members. Obstruction will worsen ahead of the November 2022 mid-term elections — which could flip the majorities in both houses of Congress — as neither party will want to appear to be ceding ground to the other,” they wrote.
Even though the United States reached a new low in that category, the nation scored even worse in “political culture” as election disputes and debates over the pandemic response have riven the population.
“Social cohesion has collapsed and consensus has evaporated on fundamental issues, such as election outcomes and public health practices,” according to the report, which notes that only 55 percent of Americans believe President Biden won a legitimate election despite the absence of widespread voter fraud.
But the insurrection and other attempts to change the outcome of the 2020 election were just that: attempts. The system’s resilience boosted the American score.
“The run-up to the change of administrations in late January 2021 was uncharacteristically tumultuous, marked by a riot at the US Capitol and attempts by the outgoing president, Donald Trump, and several Republican lawmakers to overturn the election results,” the report reads. “However, the inauguration of the new president, Joe Biden, a Democrat, proceeded smoothly, and the first year of his presidency has not faced significant disruptions.”
Two other factors helped keep the United States from ranking lower: participation and civil liberties.
American turned out to vote at a record rate in 2020, with 66 percent of the voting-eligible population casting a ballot. The EIU report also factored in the unprecedented participation in Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections in January 2021.
While the civil liberties score was high, EIU researchers caution that partisan gerrymandering and state-level efforts to change voting laws could result in a lower score in the future.
"That the United States continues to rank lower than many of our peers, and is considered a flawed democracy, should surprise no one that has observed our political system in recent years," said Mike Murphy, director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's FixUS program. "Our polarizing division and government dysfunction have led to an increasing level of distrust in our democracy, and only a comprehensive approach that attacks the root causes of this challenge will help turn this around. We can do so by tapping into the frustration of the majority of Americans who are fed up with the status quo, and rally them behind solutions they can advance in their communities which among them include political and electoral reforms to change governing incentives, revitalizing civic education, and promoting norms and engagement models that support bridge building and deliberation."
The highest rated democracies, according to the EIU, are Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark. In January, Transparency International ranked 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied with the best score, followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden.
The United States ranked 27th in that index.
An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides
In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:
For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.
Is Donald Trump right?
Should the presidency serve as a force for disruption or a safeguard of preservation?
Balta invited readers to share their thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
David Levine from Portland, Oregon, shared these thoughts...
I am an independent voter who voted for Kamala Harris in the last election.
I pay very close attention to the events going on, and I try and avoid taking other people's opinions as fact, so the following writing should be looked at with that in mind:
Is Trump right? On some things, absolutely.
As to DEI, there is a strong feeling that you cannot fight racism with more racism or sexism with more sexism. Standards have to be the same across the board, and the idea that only white people can be racist is one that I think a lot of us find delusional on its face. The question is not whether we want equality in the workplace, but whether these systems are the mechanism to achieve it, despite their claims to virtue, and many of us feel they are not.
I think if the Democrats want to take back immigration as an issue then every single illegal alien no matter how they are discovered needs to be processed and sanctuary cities need to end, every single illegal alien needs to be found at that point Democrats could argue for an amnesty for those who have shown they have been Good actors for a period of time but the dynamic of simply ignoring those who break the law by coming here illegally is I think a losing issue for the Democrats, they need to bend the knee and make a deal.
I think you have to quit calling the man Hitler or a fascist because an actual fascist would simply shoot the protesters, the journalists, and anyone else who challenges him. And while he definitely has authoritarian tendencies, the Democrats are overplaying their hand using those words, and it makes them look foolish.
Most of us understand that the tariffs are a game of economic chicken, and whether it is successful or not depends on who blinks before the midterms. Still, the Democrats' continuous attacks on the man make them look disloyal to the country, not to Trump.
Referring to any group of people as marginalized is to many of us the same as referring to them as lesser, and it seems racist and insulting.
We invite you to read the opinions of other Fulrum Readers:
Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values
The Trump Era: A Bitter Pill for American Renewal
Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership
Also, check out "Is Donald Trump Right?" and consider accepting Hugo's invitation to share your thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
The Fulcrum will select a range of submissions to share with readers as part of our ongoing civic dialogue.
We offer this platform for discussion and debate.