The United States Downgraded to “Flawed Democracy”, But Not Because of Trump

by Amna El Tawil
 
Long gone are the days when the United States posed as a haven for all those who needed help, refuge, and a chance for a better life far away from undemocratic societies. Instead, it has become a land where immigrants and descendants of immigrants are becoming xenophobic, a place where tolerance towards different races and religions is slowly drifting away, according to experts who’re closely monitoring the level of democracy exerted in nations all around the world.
 
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its 2016 Democracy Index report, the US has been downgraded to a “flawed democracy” from a “full democracy”.  What is a flawed democracy? It is a country with free elections but weighed down by weak governance, an underdeveloped political culture and low levels of political participation, according to the EIU. Other flawed democracies in 2016 included Japan, France, Singapore, South Korea and India, the report said.
 
On the other hand, full democracy is a country wherein basic political freedoms and civil liberties are respected and are “underpinned by a political culture conducive to the flourishing of democracy.” The government functions satisfactorily; media are independent and diverse; the judiciary is independent and their decisions are enforced, and there’s an effective system of checks and balances.
 
The CNBC reports that every year, the firm’s Democracy Index provides a snapshot of global democracy by scoring countries on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Nations are then classified under four types of governments: full democracy, flawed democracy, the hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.
 
America’s score fell to 7.98 last year from 8.05 in 2015, below the 8.00 threshold for a full democracy, the EIU announced in a report on Wednesday. That put the world’s largest economy on the same footing as Italy, a country known for its fractious politics.
 
While most people would, now, accuse President Donald Trump of the downgrade in democracy level in the country, that’s not actually correct according to this report. Despite the fact the EIU published the report after Trump’s inauguration, analysts write that the US was not downgraded because of him.
 
In fact, Trump’s victory is the effect of multiple underlying causes that are now swimming up to the surface. The report also showed that Americans’ trust in government has been declining since the late 1950s. Moreover, inequality in the US has been on the rise.

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5 thoughts on “The United States Downgraded to “Flawed Democracy”, But Not Because of Trump”

  1. The USA lost their Democracy, when the Deep State went “all in” and assassinated JFK. Trump needs to “go to the mattresses”, for the full four(hopefully 8) year term, to clean out this swamp/mess.

    Reply
    • Thank you Chris, if only we could make this a news flash or a 15 second sound bite perhaps some might learn. We are not a stinking democracy, we are a constitutional republic, Our forefathers hated democracy, as they knew it eats itself from the inside out and always fails, perfect example was the Roman Empire that was a republic and slowly turned into a democracy and ate itself, and it appears that we are now the 2nd example.

      Reply
  2. More lies in the form of Fake News! This economists group Economist Intelligence Unit is a joke and they need go back to school. Look you idiots, a ‘full democracy’ is mob rule with the rights of the minority trampled upon! None of the countries with this so-called status listed by EIU are full democracies either! What a group of fools! The US of A have never been a ‘full democracy’ and thank Almighty God we are sharply steering away from such a system wished upon us by BO and his minions with President Trump in office! Education Alert for the lack of intelligence EIU: The US of A is a Constitutional Republic! – if we can keep it.

    Reply

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