TRANSCRIPT
"Democracy depends on us as citizens, including those who have responsibility. And we also have to protect it ourselves along the way"
A call to defend the integrity of political systems by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
It comes as a review suggests Democracy across the world has decreased to its lowest standing in two decades, with media censorship, unfair elections and curbs on civil protests on the rise.
Mr Scholz spoke at the launch of the Bertelsmann transformation index, which is released every two years and assesses more than 130 countries.
The nations which saw the greatest slippage away from democracy were Burkina Faso, Papua New Guinea and Tunisia, while conflict-torn states Yemen, Somalia and Myanmar were at the bottom of the table.
The report suggests autocratic rule and populism have been fuelled by the COVID pandemic, numerous conflicts such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a sharp rise in food costs and economic turmoil.
Bill Browne, Director of the Democracy & Accountability Program at the Australia Institute, told SBS governments can be vulnerable to erosion or hostile takeovers.
"Those opposed to democracy can take advantage of widespread disruption, whether that's war or in the economy, which is one reason why it's so important that democracies keep their people safe and do as much as they can to limit the harms that come from recessions and depressions. We can have a government that provides for its people. Democracies are at their best where they provide for all the citizens that they represent and meet their needs, both in terms of personal security and economic growth"
Mr Browne says countries with democratic governments tend to have better standards of living.
'We do see a trend where democracies tend to be more prosperous and more peaceful than other types of government. It's probably a case of these things mutually reinforcing each other, that when people are well off, they increase their public participation and they have better trust in their institutions and that these institutions repay this trust with economic growth and prosperity. "
A gradual erosion of democracy has led to several states slipping down the table, a trend highlighted by Bangladesh, Mozambique and Turkey, all of which were categorised as moderate autocracies.
At the Third Summit for Democracy in South Korea, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says conflict in Europe poses a further threat to the world order.
"Together we have to make the force that has gone mad come back to the rules and make the rules work again to shield the world order of fragility. It is vital for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Indo-Pacific region and all other regions of the world."
Bill Browne says wealthy democracies like Australia have an important part to play.
"By using our soft power to encourage respect for liberal democracy and democratic norms, even among our allies, which is sometimes the hardest conversations to have and Australia can provide financial and institutional support to its neighbours, whether that's by providing advice or monetary assistance to make these institutions stronger and these democratic processes more reliable and consistent."
While an overall decrease in democracy took place in recent years, there have been some gains, showing authoritarian trends can be stopped at the ballot box.
The Baltic states, Taiwan, South Korea, Costa Rica and Chile remained robust democracies, while free elections in Brazil, Kenya and Zambia bucked the trend and pushed up their score.
