Examples of autocratic parties that rose to power after 2008 include Fidesz in Hungary, the Law and Justice Party in Poland, and the Five Star Movement in Italy. Examples of autocratic politicians that rose to power after 2008 include Bolsonaro in Brazil, Trump in the United States, and Modi in India. After each of these parties/leaders rose to power, there was a decline in the quality of their respective democracies.

Wesleyan University

Over the course of the economic crisis in Europe, support for democracy declined by 7% on average. Countries that were particularly hard-hit saw declines in support for democracy of up to 46%. By 2011, only 50% of Europeans reported being satisfied with the way democracy worked in their specific countries.


Decline in the Popularity of Democracy After 2008

Lührmann, A., Maerz, S. F., Grahn, S., Alizada, N., Gastaldi, L., Hellmeier, S., Hindle, G., & Lindberg, S. I. (2020). Autocratization Surges – Resistance Grows: Democracy Report 2020. Gothenburg: Varieties of Democracy Institute.

Lührmann et al. (2020)

Kyle, J. & Meyer, B. (2020, February 7). High Tide? Populism in Power, 1990-2020. Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://institute.global/policy/high-tide-populism-power-1990-2020

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