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Africa
Americas
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Western Asia

Democracy Tracker

The Democracy Tracker provides event-centric, monthly information on democracy and human rights developments in 173 countries. Event reports include a description of the event, indications of the specific aspects of democracy that have been impacted, the magnitude of the impact, links to original sources and keywords to enable further research. Click on the country hexagons below to read the most recent developments, or hover over to the country profiles menu at the top to access the full data and analysis of a specific country.

Positive and Negative Events in February 2024

+1
Australia Arrow Australia
+1
Bosnia and Herzegovina Arrow Bosnia and Herzegovina
+1
France Arrow France
+1
Greece Arrow Greece
+1
India Arrow India
+1
Italy Arrow Italy
+1
Japan Arrow Japan
+1
Panama Arrow Panama
+1
Switzerland Arrow Switzerland
-1
Albania Arrow Albania
-1
Azerbaijan Arrow Azerbaijan
-1
Chad Arrow Chad
-1
Ethiopia Arrow Ethiopia
-1
Hungary Arrow Hungary
-1
Jordan Arrow Jordan
-1
Latvia Arrow Latvia
-1
Madagascar Arrow Madagascar
-1
Malawi Arrow Malawi
-1
Mexico Arrow Mexico
-1
North Macedonia Arrow North Macedonia
-1
Papua New Guinea Arrow Papua New Guinea
-1
Paraguay Arrow Paraguay
-1
Russian Federation Arrow Russian Federation
-1
Senegal Arrow Senegal
-1
Singapore Arrow Singapore
-1
Ukraine Arrow Ukraine
-1
United States of America Arrow United States of America
-1
Venezuela Arrow Venezuela
-1
Zimbabwe Arrow Zimbabwe
-2
Belarus Arrow Belarus

*Assessments are relative to each country and do not represent comparisons or rankings between countries.

Flag
May 2022

Malaysia

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Representation
Rights
Rule of Law
Participation

Critical Events in February 2024

Asia and the Pacific • India

On 15 February, India’s Supreme Court (SC) struck down a fund-raising mechanism that allowed for individuals and companies to send unlimited anonymous political donations by receiving so-called “electoral bonds” from the State Bank of India (SBI) in exchange for donations to a political party or candidate. Critics of the system had long maintained that it favoured the ruling party by providing it with a significant financial advantage over its rivals, and by enabling SBI, and consequently the government, to track donations that influence political processes. In response to a petition brought by opposition members and a non-governmental organization, the court declared the electoral bonds scheme as “unconstitutional,” violating citizens’ right to government-held information. The decision mandates the SBI to immediately halt the issuance of electoral bonds. Political analysts and the opposition have praised the SC decision as a step towards transparency and strengthening democracy. Meanwhile, the ruling party has emphasized the importance of respecting every SC decision and accused opposition parties of politicising the matter.
Supreme Court
Elections
Money in Politics
SDG16

Africa • Chad

On 28 February, leader of the Socialist Party without Borders (Parti Socialiste Sans Frontières, PSF), Yaya Dillo Djerou died after a series of violent confrontations between his party and security forces. First, on 19 February, the PSF was accused of plotting to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court. A senior official in the PSF, Abakar Torabi, was accused of instigating that plot and was arrested by the internal intelligence services (Agence nationale de sécurité de l’État, ANSE). PSF supporters are alleged to have attacked the ANSE headquarters on 27 February. Finally, on 28 February the security services attacked the PSF headquarters, taking control of the facility after an intense exchange of gunfire. The PSF headquarters were later demolished. The exact circumstances of Dillo’s death are unclear; he may have been mortally wounded in the attack on ANSE on 27 February or killed at the PSF headquarters on 28 February. He was viewed as one of the main challengers to interim president Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno in the elections now scheduled for May.
Mahamat Idriss Déby
SDG16
Parti Socialiste Sans Frontières

Europe • France

France became one of the first countries in the world to protect the right to abortion in its Constitution. The amendment to Article 34 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom for a woman to have recourse to a voluntary termination of pregnancy. The amendment comfortably cleared the three-fifths majority vote in Parliament required for constitutional reform. It was passed by the upper house (the Senate) on 28 February, with 267 votes for and 50 against, and by the lower house (the National Assembly) on 4 March with 780 votes for and 72 against. A 2023 poll shows that 82 per cent of the French population believes abortion should be legal, among the highest levels of support in Europe. The government expressed that the decision to protect the right to abortion in the Constitution followed a rollback of abortion rights across Europe and around the world, including the 2022 decision by the Supreme Court to strip women of the right to abortion in the United States.
Healthcare
Constitutional reform
SDG16
SDG5

Americas • Venezuela

The Maduro Government has ordered the closure of Venezuela’s office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), expelling its international staff. The government also argues that they had engaged in “colonial and abusive” behavior and had violated the UN Charter. Authorities further announced that they would reassess their cooperation with the OHCHR within 30 days. In the days prior to the decision, the OHCHR Venezuela office had expressed its concern over the detention of prominent activist Rocio San Miguel, whose whereabouts were unknown for several days. Local NGOs and other human rights defenders have condemned the decision to end cooperation with the UN human rights office. 
UN
Nicolas Maduro
Political Pressure
SDG16

About the Global State of Democracy Initiative

International IDEA launched the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Initiative in 2016. This Initiative provides evidence-based and balanced analysis and data on the state and quality of democracy globally and for 173 countries across all regions of the world. It aims to contribute to the public debate on democracy and inform policy interventions to strengthen democracy.

Monthly Event Reports

See all the information related to countries that have updates this month.

Africa

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Arrow SEN
-1
Arrow TCD
0
Arrow COD
-1
Arrow ETH
-1
Arrow MDG
-1
Arrow MWI
-1
Arrow ZWE
0
Arrow GHA
without report
Arrow ZAF
without report
Arrow DZA
without report
Arrow AGO
without report
Arrow BEN
without report
Arrow BWA
without report
Arrow BFA
without report
Arrow BDI
without report
Arrow CMR
without report
Arrow CAF
without report
Arrow COM
without report
Arrow CIV
without report
Arrow CPV
without report
Arrow DJI
without report
Arrow EGY
without report
Arrow GNQ
without report
Arrow ERI
without report
Arrow GAB
without report
Arrow GMB
without report
Arrow SWZ
without report
Arrow GIN
without report
Arrow GNB
without report
Arrow KEN
without report
Arrow LSO
without report
Arrow LBR
without report
Arrow LBY
without report
Arrow MLI
without report
Arrow MRT
without report
Arrow MUS
without report
Arrow MAR
without report
Arrow MOZ
without report
Arrow NAM
without report
Arrow NER
without report
Arrow NGA
without report
Arrow COG
without report
Arrow RWA
without report
Arrow SLE
without report
Arrow SOM
without report
Arrow SSD
without report
Arrow SDN
without report
Arrow TZA
without report
Arrow TGO
without report
Arrow TUN
without report
Arrow UGA
without report
Arrow ZMB
View all

Americas

0
Arrow SLV
+1
Arrow PAN
0
Arrow BRA
-1
Arrow PRY
-1
Arrow VEN
0
Arrow CRI
0
Arrow COL
-1
Arrow USA
-1
Arrow MEX
without report
Arrow CAN
without report
Arrow HTI
without report
Arrow ARG
without report
Arrow BRB
without report
Arrow BOL
without report
Arrow CHL
without report
Arrow CUB
without report
Arrow DOM
without report
Arrow ECU
without report
Arrow GTM
without report
Arrow GUY
without report
Arrow HND
without report
Arrow JAM
without report
Arrow NIC
without report
Arrow PER
without report
Arrow SUR
without report
Arrow TTO
without report
Arrow URY
View all

Asia and the Pacific

0
Arrow PAK
+1
Arrow JPN
0
Arrow CHN
+1
Arrow IND
-1
Arrow SGP
0
Arrow THA
0
Arrow KGZ
+1
Arrow AUS
-1
Arrow PNG
0
Arrow IDN
0
Arrow MYS
0
Arrow KHM
without report
Arrow TWN
without report
Arrow LKA
without report
Arrow MMR
without report
Arrow TLS
without report
Arrow AFG
without report
Arrow BGD
without report
Arrow BTN
without report
Arrow PRK
without report
Arrow FJI
without report
Arrow KAZ
without report
Arrow LAO
without report
Arrow MDV
without report
Arrow MNG
without report
Arrow NPL
without report
Arrow NZL
without report
Arrow PHL
without report
Arrow KOR
without report
Arrow SLB
without report
Arrow TJK
without report
Arrow TKM
without report
Arrow UZB
without report
Arrow VUT
without report
Arrow VNM
View all

Europe

0
Arrow FIN
0
Arrow HRV
-1
Arrow MKD
0
Arrow POL
-1
Arrow RUS
-1
Arrow AZE
-2
Arrow BLR
0
Arrow AUT
+1
Arrow FRA
+1
Arrow CHE
0
Arrow CYP
+1
Arrow GRC
-1
Arrow UKR
-1
Arrow ALB
+1
Arrow BIH
-1
Arrow LVA
+1
Arrow ITA
-1
Arrow HUN
without report
Arrow ESP
without report
Arrow GBR
without report
Arrow KSV
without report
Arrow TUR
without report
Arrow ARM
without report
Arrow SVK
without report
Arrow BEL
without report
Arrow BGR
without report
Arrow CZE
without report
Arrow DNK
without report
Arrow EST
without report
Arrow GEO
without report
Arrow DEU
without report
Arrow ISL
without report
Arrow IRL
without report
Arrow LTU
without report
Arrow LUX
without report
Arrow MLT
without report
Arrow MDA
without report
Arrow MNE
without report
Arrow NLD
without report
Arrow NOR
without report
Arrow PRT
without report
Arrow ROU
without report
Arrow SRB
without report
Arrow SVN
without report
Arrow SWE
View all

Western Asia

-1
Arrow JOR
0
Arrow LBN
0
Arrow PSE
without report
Arrow IRQ
without report
Arrow BHR
without report
Arrow IRN
without report
Arrow ISR
without report
Arrow KWT
without report
Arrow OMN
without report
Arrow QAT
without report
Arrow SAU
without report
Arrow SYR
without report
Arrow ARE
without report
Arrow YEM
View all
Flag
May 2022

Malaysia

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin consequat augue non efficitur fermentum. Proin eu...

Representation
Rights
Rule of Law
Participation

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Funders and Donors

The European Union Federal Ministry for Economic Coorperation and Development Robert Bosch Stiftung
The Global State of Democracy Initiative is also supported by contributions of International IDEA Member States