Democracies are in decline, but not dying, says Harvard expert

A leading Harvard professor says democracies are struggling but not collapsing, pushing back against a wave of fatalism about the future of democratic systems worldwide. Speaking at a 2025 lecture at Cornell University, Steven Levitsky, co-author of the bestseller *How Democracies Die*, stated: “Despite the unfavorable international context, democracies persist.” His message, experts say, is a needed counterweight to alarmist narratives that dominate public attention. The data supports a mixed picture. According to V-Dem, one of the three most respected democracy watchdogs alongside Freedom House and *The Economist*, the number of democratic countries peaked at 95 in 2016 and fell to 87 by 2025. Meanwhile, autocracies rose from 82 in 2004 to 92 in 2025. This marks a third “wave of autocratization,” but unlike past waves, it is now hitting Western democracies hardest. What causes this decline? Signs are easy to spot: politicized courts, shrinking freedoms, attacks on the press, rigged elections, corruption, and rising polarization. But causes are harder to pin down. Levitsky and other scholars point to three broken political norms: refusing to treat opponents as legitimate rivals, using state institutions for partisan gain, and backing candidates with authoritarian leanings just because they win votes. Polarization, one key symptom, is often a deliberate strategy. Political parties exploit social media and artificial intelligence to target niche voter groups, feeding on emotions like fear of migration and distrust of facts. This tactic, once limited to short election periods, has become a permanent feature of political life, amplified by 24/7 media and algorithmic echo chambers. Underlying this trend is a deeper cultural shift. Western societies have embraced a form of liberal individualism that prizes competition above all. This “normative antagonism” – the belief that conflict drives progress – now shapes law, economics, media, and academia. It fuels xenophobia, disinformation, and hate speech, weakening the very democracy it claims to serve. The diagnosis is clear. The solution, experts suggest, may start with a calmer, more rational public debate. As Levitsky’s words remind us: democracies are under threat, but they are not finished.