The year 1992 saw Francis Fukuyama declare that we were at “the end of history.” By defeating fascism and communism after the Cold War, he said that liberal democracy was not just a system of governance but also the pinnacle of human ideology. For a time, he seemed to be right. Eastern Europe embraced democratic reforms. In Latin America, juntas gave way to civilian governments. As the global economy opened up, the USA, full of confidence, became the model that everyone wanted to emulate.
Over 30 years, that illusion has been dispelled. Democracy is not only in danger, but it is also in decline. In 2024, more than half of the world’s population cast ballots in a record election year, but the EIU’s Democracy Index showed yet another democratic downturn. By report, just 45 percent of people on the globe live in democracies, 39 percent in authoritarian regimes, and 15 percent in hybrid regimes that mix elements of authoritarianism with electoral democracy.
This is not just a shift in the world; it is an ideological breakdown. Democracies are currently being destroyed from the inside out by elected autocrats, weaponized disinformation, shattered institutions, and public disinterest. The very institutions that previously ensured freedom, like elections, the media, and the courts, are now working against it.
The thesis made by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt in How Democracies Die is that the initial indications of democratic decline are often not coups but rather institutional degradation. Democratically elected leaders exploit the law to strengthen their hold on power, suppress dissent, and weaken checks and balances.
Take India, which was formerly hailed as the world’s largest democracy. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has sunk into what scholars now call “electoral autocracy.” The free press has been silenced, and the targeting of the Muslim minority by the Citizenship Amendment Act, internet bans, and anti-terror laws like the UAPA reveal a state that is growing increasingly illiberal while feigning democracy.
The same has been done in Turkey by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For almost two decades, he has used elections as a cover for an authoritarian consolidation. Erdogan was elected in 2023 in spite of harsh charges of voting suppression, judiciary manipulation, and media repression. Current reports by Reporters Without Borders ranked it 151 out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom.
Tyranny is fueled by both brutality and forgetfulness. We have to keep in mind that democracy is not inevitable. It requires constant struggle because it is not natural. If democracy dies in the 21st century, it may not be murdered but rather surrendered by the same people it was intended to empower.
The USA, which is a symbol of democratic stability, is also having difficulties. How fragile its institutions have become was made clear by the 6 January 2021 Capitol uprising. Donald Trump’s refusal to accept electoral defeat, his illogical charges of fraud, and the unwavering loyalty of millions to his anti-democratic rhetoric show that even advanced democracies can regress. A 2024 Gallup study found that only 28 percent of Americans think their government does what is right. This is not just polarization, but disintegration.
Like Netanyahu’s Israel and Erdogan’s Turkey, The Washington Post warns that executive overreach and loyalty-driven appointments are increasingly changing US institutions. By comparing Trump’s increasing authoritarianism to Orban’s Hungary, The Guardian affirms that media and judiciary rights are being emphasized.
The People versus Democracy is a book written by Yascha Mounk in which he analyses how populism threatens democratic systems and their liberal roots. Populist waves brought leaders like Viktor Orban in Hungary, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico, and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil to power, only to erode human rights, weaken institutions, and consolidate power. Orban confidently calls Hungary an ‘‘illiberal democracy,’’ but it is seldom democratic in reality.
The paradox of winning elections while undermining democracy is the populist trap. Voters cast ballots, but their choices are restricted, their media is silenced, and their courts are politicized. As Mounk warns, democracy may survive in name but not in reality.
Steven Feldstein’s book, The Rise of Digital Repression, illustrates how autocracies have changed beyond merely being more aggressive. Chinese-made surveillance cameras, Israeli spyware like Pegasus, and AI-generated disinformation are all helping authoritarian governments suppress opposition more successfully than ever before.
China’s “social credit” system, facial recognition technologies, and censorship algorithms have created a regime of near-total surveillance. But the danger isn’t limited to Beijing. These tools are being exported and used by regimes in Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and even some parts of Europe. Feldstein shows that democracy is losing the tech war not because of a lack of innovation but because of an erosion of ethical standards.
The collapse of Fukuyama’s vision can also be seen in today’s confrontations (Russia-Ukraine, Iran-Israel, Israel-Hamas) and many others. These conflicts expose the way in which authoritarian states exploit disarray to consolidate their rule, the manner in which international division weakens democratic solidarity, and the manner in which democracies compromise their values in the name of security.
Israel was once seen as the only stable Middle Eastern democracy, but its fight with Iran and Hamas has sped up its illiberal turn. Only 48 percent of Jewish Israelis still believe democracy is the best system, down from 72 percent in 2013, according to the report of the Israel Democracy Institute, 2024. This is not the end of history. This is its violent return.
Are we seeing democracy fading away slowly? Or is this just another tough time in its bumpy history? While this is undoubtedly a turning point because democracy is not coming to an end. It must adapt while retaining its basic principles in order to address modern issues such as economic inequality, fake news, and political divisions. If democratic systems can’t rebuild trust, protect our freedoms, and keep new tech in check, then elections and parliaments could just turn into empty gestures, with real power hidden behind a mask of legitimacy.
As Snyder points out, tyranny is fueled by both brutality and forgetfulness. We have to keep in mind that democracy is not inevitable. It requires constant struggle because it is not natural. If democracy dies in the 21st century, it may not be murdered but rather surrendered by the same people it was intended to empower.
