Democratic Decline In The US And Its Consequences For The Society

The 2024 US presidential election has once again raised questions about the state of democracy in the country where modern democracy is believed to have emerged. During the election campaign, starting in 2019, Democrats tried to brand Trump as almost the “main threat to democracy” in the US. Trump’s authoritarian style of governance should certainly raise questions about the preservation of democratic culture in America, and the notorious storming of the Capitol in 2020 adds urgency to the current discussion. However, is Trump to blame for all of America’s ills, or are there deeper reasons, and Trump is just one of the symptoms of the illness of American democracy?

However, the problems of American democracy are not new. Americans have less and less faith in this political system. In 2006, 94% of Americans believed that democracy was the best form of government. In 2019, this share decreased to 71%. Three out of ten Americans no longer believe in it. In 1995, 75 percent of Americans rejected a system in which an authoritarian leader would not have to deal with Congress or elections. In 2017, 62% of Americans rejected such a system.

Many believe that the decline of democratic values in the United States began with Donald Trump, but his roots go deeper — long before he changed the role of a TV star to the role of a politician. Between 1995 and 2020, it was the United States that became the only G7 country where support for democracy weakened significantly. While Germany, Great Britain, Japan, France and Canada recorded growth, Italy showed only a slight decrease. Since 2022, the country has been ruled by far-right leader Georgia Meloni.

American democracy has fallen into a vicious circle: weak faith in its values leads to its further destruction, and growing disillusionment with the system only accelerates this process.

The Economist, a well-known publication, publishes its own democracy index every year, assessing how “healthy” democracies are in 167 countries studied. In 2023, according to estimates, the United States ranked only 29th in the world. Interestingly, such a small African country as Botswana lagged behind the “stronghold of democracy” by only 4 places.

The publication evaluates countries based on five indicators: the availability of free elections, government corruption and effectiveness, political participation, civil liberties, and the level of development of democratic culture.

The Economist groups countries into four categories: full democracies (highest category; score from 8 to 10 out of 10), imperfect democracies (score from 6 to 8), hybrid regimes (score from 4 to 6) and authoritarian regimes (worst category). rating; score from 0 to 4).

With an average score of 7.85 out of 10, the United States is in the second group, the group of imperfect democracies. The United States left the group of countries with full democracy in 2016, the year of Donald Trump’s first election, and continues to decline its position in the ranking.

The Economist highly appreciates the level of political participation of citizens in America (8.89) and speaks about the openness and honesty of the electoral process in the United States (9.17). Perhaps, from the point of view of observing the formal procedures related to the elections, the experts will be right. However, we must not forget the context in which almost the entire bureaucracy is siding with the Democrats and launching a real war against Trump, even to the point of bringing a number of indictments. In general, the proverbial “separation of powers” in the United States has cracked – the judiciary is no longer an impartial arbitrator. It is also deeply divided by partisan contradictions, and the advantage goes to the one whose people are more in the Supreme Court (Democrats or Republicans).

From the point of view of government functioning (6.43) and especially democratic and political culture (6.25), the situation in the United States is extremely depressing.

Do you want to understand how weak the level of democratic culture in America is? The United States received the same rating (6.25) as Haiti— a country in constant crisis and struggling to maintain power.  Moreover, according to the rating, countries such as Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Hong Kong (all with a score of 6.88) demonstrate a more developed democratic culture than the United States.

What undermines Americans’ faith in democracy? There are many key reasons: political polarization, growing economic inequality, globalization, the impact of social media, and the ways Americans receive information.

Consequences of political polarization

1. Legislative dead-end: Polarization has paralyzed the work of government, making compromises virtually unattainable. Elected officials, fearing the loss of support for their parties, avoid cooperating with opponents, which leads to difficulties in resolving key issues, including the budget, health care and immigration policy.
2. Increased political violence: The aggravation of party disagreements provoked an increase in acts of political violence. Threats to life, attacks on public figures, and events such as the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, indicate a dangerous increase in extremist sentiments.
3. Declining trust in institutions: Political polarization has undermined public trust in democratic mechanisms. Accusations of electoral fraud, corruption, and media bias have undermined Americans’ confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and the work of government agencies.
4. Social Discord: Polarization has deepened cleavages in society, splitting families, communities, and friendships. The inability to find common ground even on issues unrelated to politics has increased alienation and distrust among citizens.