Demonstrators are in the streets in Iran and China to protest repressive governments. Ukrainians are defending their democracy, flawed as it is, against Russian invaders. Elections in Africa and Asia resulted in changes in the ruling powers that were accepted without violence.
For years, democracy and freedom have been in retreat around the globe, and — in many minds — even here in the United States, where just last week a former president proposed the “termination” of some rules in the Constitution. But events in far-flung corners of the globe have produced glimmers of hope that suggest that the direction of democracy is not simply one way.
Michael J. Abramowitz is the president of Freedom House, a nonprofit organization founded in 1941 under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie to promote democracy and liberty around the world. After a long career at The Washington Post, where we worked together, Abramowitz has spent nearly six years trying to reverse the trend of recent years and, for the first time in a while, sees reasons for optimism.
We talked about China, Iran and the broader swings this week:
Baker: You wrote last week that recent developments “point to an eventual reversal of the dismal trends” of democratic reverses of recent years. Is this a moment of optimism, or are we getting too excited?
Abramowitz: We are being reminded every day that people are willing to risk all for the right to live in freedom, peace and dignity. I wouldn’t underestimate the willingness of Russian, Iranian and Chinese regimes to respond brutally to the protests to hold onto power. But yes, I am optimistic. Time and history are not on the dictators’ side.
Freedom House has documented 16 years of shrinking freedom around the world. Last year, you found that freedom had declined in 60 countries and improved in only 25. What has driven this trend?
Things differ from country to country. But broadly speaking, dictators and illiberal leaders in democracies — think of Hungary’s Viktor Orban — have capitalized on people’s grievances about economic conditions, demographic shifts or social change to make the case that only strongmen rule, and only they can solve complex problems.
What about in the U.S.? Donald Trump called for “termination” of parts of the Constitution to put himself immediately back in power. What would you rate a country where that happened?
We do not foresee a scenario in which our Constitution will be terminated. In places where that has happened, where authoritarian leaders have undermined democratic systems to secure their own power, those countries are generally considered “partly free” or “not free” by Freedom House.
How big a threat do you see to American democracy?
I have faith in the underlying resilience of our country’s democracy. The antibodies to antidemocratic thinking and practice are kicking in. I think people are seeing the risks in a way perhaps they didn’t before. But we should not take the survival of our democracy for granted. I was a reporter for many years and have seen a lot, but I never would have dreamed a political figure, and his supporters, would have tried to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
We’ve seen protests in Iran and China before, but the governments survived. Should we expect the outcome to be different this time?
The honest answer is, I don’t know. I think these regimes are more brittle than we see from the outside. Dictators are subject to the same pressures to deliver as democratically elected leaders are. As you know from the Soviet Union, regimes can seem impervious to change — until they are not. I don’t expect to see Xi Jinping in power in five years. China isn’t suddenly going to turn into a democracy, but we shouldn’t underestimate the power of dissent.
President Biden has been relatively quiet about the China protests. Should he be speaking out more?
Everyone should be speaking out more, particularly democratic leaders. It’s not productive or realistic to cut all ties to authoritarian regimes, but we should use this engagement to press human rights concerns. If democracies don’t defend these values, who will?
You were a co-host of an event with the George W. Bush Institute highlighting human rights defenders. Of those you’ve met, who was one of the most impressive?
I think often of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition figure and journalist who was living in the United States but went back to Russia around the time of the Ukraine invasion despite two assassination attempts and knowing he would be thrown in jail. There are many remarkable people out there who are risking everything to bring freedom to their countries. That gives me hope.
Related: The upheaval in Peru’s government is a test of its democracy.
THE LATEST NEWS
Griner’s Release
International
Other Big Stories
-
Federal regulators sued to block Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of the video game maker Activision Blizzard.
-
The commercial spyware industry is booming, allowing governments, including the American one, to hack phones.
-
Times journalists held a one-day strike yesterday, saying talks between their union and the company had dragged on with only limited progress.
-
The “boy in the box,” a 4-year-old whose beaten body was found in Philadelphia in 1957, has been identified.
-
Celine Dion said she had stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.
Opinions
The Chinese government’s response to protests against Covid measures doesn’t address the larger yearning for an end to autocracy, Nicholas Kristof writes.
Cookie Week: These videos will put you in the holiday spirit — and make you crave cookies.
Commuting zen: This is how you find inner peace on the subway.
Silicone breakthrough: Scientists have designed a “vagina on a chip.”
Modern Love: Their relationship was impossible, which is, of course, what made it possible.
Lives Lived: Jule Campbell was the mastermind of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, which broke publishing records and helped usher in the era of the supermodel. She died at 96.
SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC
The Commanders: Congressional investigators found that owner Dan Snyder permitted and participated in creating a toxic workplace culture and interfered with investigations.
A miracle: The Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield led his new team to an improbable win over the Raiders last night, about 48 hours after he arrived in Los Angeles. Las Vegas saw its playoff hopes slip away as Mayfield orchestrated a stunning 98-yard touchdown drive to win, 17-16.
What went wrong for Texas A&M? The Aggies had title hopes, a $94.9 million coach and a top recruiting class. What ensued in the 2022 season was an unequivocal nightmare.
WORLD CUP
Fantasyland: From a desert tent to a golden bowl, the spectacular arenas Qatar has built in and around Doha, its capital, showcase the majesty, and the folly, of this World Cup.
Greatest generation: The World Cup is bidding farewell to the starriest cast the game has ever assembled. The setting is a perfect fit for the game’s age of excess.
Quarterfinals: Croatia plays Brazil at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the Netherlands faces Argentina at 2 p.m.
ARTS AND IDEAS
Back in the spotlight
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, accuse the news media of continuing harassment and say they want to continue the legacy of Diana, Princess of Wales, in “Harry & Meghan,” a highly anticipated Netflix documentary series about them that was partly released yesterday.
The show promises a firsthand account of Harry and Meghan’s story with never-before-seen materials from their personal archives.
The series includes a rare interview with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who says that the negative reactions to the couple were because Meghan is biracial. The series also reveals details of Meghan’s claim that some royals view media harassment as a “rite of passage,” The Times’s Alex Marshall writes.
What people are saying: Critics in the U.S. and Britain found common ground in negative reviews.
Related: The villain of the series so far, surprisingly, is not the royal family.