The perception that autocracies handled the 2008 financial crisis better than democracies—or at least that democracies performed poorly—is largely reinforced by the scholarly literature. Consequently, citizens’ support of democracy has declined across the world, much to the benefit of autocratic political candidates.

The Great Recession and Democracy's Decline in Popularity

Despite inconclusive research and incomplete data, a narrative has arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic suggesting that autocracies like China are better at handling the pandemic than advanced Western democracies.

COVID-19 and Democracy's Apparent Weaknesses

Voters living in democracies have become frustrated by the perceived inability of democracies—particularly advanced democracies—to cope with emergencies. Two major crises that democracies apparently struggled to cope with were/are the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wesleyan University

Autocrats have benefitted from a rising perception among citizens of democracies that democracies struggle to govern, particularly on addressing long-term issues and immediate crises. Autocrats have capitalized off of this frustration to convince voters to elect non-democratic candidates.

Disillusionment With Democracy and The Rise of Autocrats

Plattner, M. F. (2016). Is Democracy in Decline? Democracy & Society, 1(4), 1-7. 

Plattner (2016)

Democracy’s Perceived Inadequacy: Emergency Response

Voters living in democracies—particularly young democracies—have become disappointed with their governments’ ability to govern, particularly when addressing corruption, unstable economies, racism, and other long-term issues.

Democracy’s Perceived Inadequacy: Long-Term Issues

Crises can expose long-term issues that democracies have failed to address, provoking frustration with democracy among voters. Crises can therefore contribute to unrest that would-be autocrats can then take advantage of.

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