Autocrats are on the defensive as popular protests mount—but democracy’s fate depends on leaders delivering results.
The conventional wisdom these days is that autocracy is ascendant and democracy is on the decline. But the superficial appeal of the rise-of-autocracy thesis belies a more complex reality—and a bleaker future for autocrats. As people see that unaccountable rulers prioritize their own interests over the public’s, the popular demand for rights-respecting democracy remains strong.
In country after country—Myanmar, Sudan, Russia, Belarus, Nicaragua, Poland, Uganda, even Kazakhstan before protests seemed to have been hijacked by a governmental power struggle—large numbers of people have recently taken to the streets, even at the risk of being arrested or shot. There are few rallies for autocratic rule.
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Musician turned politician Bobi Wine (C) is joined by other activists on July 11, 2018 in Kampala, Uganda, during a demonstration to protest a controversial tax on the use of social media. ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP via Getty Images
Article written by Kenneth Roth and published by Foreign Policy on January 13, 2022. You can here the full article here foreignpolicy.com,