The Economist Intelligence Unit’s report on democracy around the world offers valuable insight into last year’s trends and what to expect this year. Titled “Age of Kin Flact,” the report describes declining democratic standards around the world. While the Asian region saw a general decline in per-country scores, Pakistan’s drop of eleven points in the Democracy Index is alarming. Out of the four categories in which the Economist Intelligence Unit classifies countries, Pakistan has moved from hybrid regime category to dictatorship.
However, this drop in scores is not unexpected. With the tumultuous year of 2023, one can predict the decline that the numbers from the Economist Intelligence Unit have announced. Even with the holding of elections, the report does not see any significant progress in the quality of democracy in the country. Viewed in isolation, Pakistan’s slide on the index looks alarming, but when we look at the bigger picture, it is interesting that only 8% of the world’s population enjoys the full benefits of democracy. And considering that Europe is home to much of this population, the question of whether we even need democracy becomes relevant again.
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China, although placed in the authoritarian category, has improved scores on some indicators. While India is in the poor democracy box, it still scores very poorly against indicators of civil liberties. For a region as diverse as Asia, the electoral process does not guarantee a thriving democracy. Judged by the standards of the West, Asia finds itself struggling to touch standards that are the result of a completely different way of living and thinking. Even by its own standards, North America has lost its crown seat to Western Europe for the first time.
It would then be fair to say that the decline of democratic standards in Pakistan reflects broader global trends of erosion of democratic institutions and loss of trust in the mainstream political process. The case of China shows that an alternative system can also warrant the protections that the Economist Intelligence Unit measures against certain indicators under the umbrella of democracy. In this case, the umbrella will have a different name.
