Democracy Tracker
The Democracy Tracker provides event-centric, monthly information on democracy and human rights developments in 173 countries. Event reports describe a change to the status-quo of the state of democracy at the country level. They 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 July 2024
Brazil
Canada
Germany
Libya
Mali
Morocco
Palestine
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Oman
Peru
Poland
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Tunisia
Türkiye
UK
United Arab Emirates
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
United States of America
*Assessments are relative to each country and do not represent comparisons or rankings between countries.
May 2022
Malaysia
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin consequat augue non efficitur fermentum. Proin eu...
Critical Events in July 2024
Asia and the Pacific • Bangladesh
In July, student-led protests erupted in response to government efforts to reinstate quotas in civil service jobs for relatives of veterans from the country’s independence war. The students argued that this system was discriminatory and called for merit-based recruitment. On 21 July, the Supreme Court ruled that only five per cent of public sector jobs could be reserved, significantly reducing the initial 30 per cent quota. In response to the protests, Bangladeshi authorities initiated a nationwide internet shutdown that lasted 11 days and enforced a curfew with an order that permitted officers to use firearms against mobs in extreme cases. According to United Nations officials, nearly 650 people have been killed, with thousands reportedly detained. The escalating violence prompted protesters to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several other ruling party ministers. United Nations experts condemned the excessive force used against protesters, labelling it as “unlawful killings,” and called for an independent investigation into the government’s actions.
Europe • Poland
On 12 July, the Sejm, Poland’s lower parliamentary house, approved amendments to the Homeland Defence Act and the Criminal Code, which exempts soldiers, border guards and police officers from criminal liability for the use of weapons against migrants attempting to cross into Poland under certain conditions. These circumstances include cases of self-defence or failure to comply with a request to surrender a weapon, explosive or “other dangerous item.” Legal experts point to the risk of the broad interpretation of a “dangerous item.” The amendments also provide officers accused of improper use of weapons with financial support to obtain legal assistance. The amendments were approved with overwhelming support (401 votes in favour and 17 against). The Defense Ministry introduced the legislation on 21 June after two soldiers were suspended from duty and charged with exceeding their powers after firing warning shots towards a group of migrants at the border with Belarus, sparking fierce political debate.
Western Asia • Iran
On 5 July, presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, representing the reformist political faction, won the second round of the Iranian presidential election with 53.7 percent of the vote. He defeated his hardline opponent, Saeed Jalili. Voter turnout reached 49.8 percent, higher than the record low 39.93 percent registered in the first round. This snap election was called following the sudden death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on 19 May. Initially, 80 candidates, including four women, registered for candidacy. However, Iran’s Guardian Council, responsible for overseeing the elections and vetting candidacies, approved only six male candidates. Two candidates withdrew prior to the first round, leaving four contenders in the race. Since no candidate secured the required 50 per cent of the vote in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, Pezeshkian and Jalili. Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony took place on 30 July.
Americas • Peru
Congress has passed a so-called “amnesty” bill, through which a statute of limitations will be set to crimes against humanity and war crimes committed before 2002 (year in which the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court entered into force). Lawmakers pushed the piece of legislation through despite provisional measures by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordering the Peruvian state to halt it. A group of UN Special Rapporteurs and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances had also cautioned that establishing a statute of limitations to such atrocity crimes constitutes a transgression to a peremptory norm of international law. Human rights experts have further highlighted that the bill severely undermines access to justice efforts for victims of the internal armed conflict between the government and the Shining Path group. This includes a landmark ruling issued in the “Manta y Vilca” case in June, in which Peru’s courts recognized the use of rape and sexual violence as a crime against humanity when convicting a group of former soldiers, 40 years after an assault on nine rural women. Experts have also expressed outrage at the likelihood the legislation will benefit former President Fujimori and other top officials convicted of, or still facing criminal proceedings for historic crimes. The bill entered into force in early August.
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.
Democracy Notes & Commentary
Latin America’s “Achilles’ heel”: An interview with expert Dr. Dinorah Azpuru, on the rule of law, democracy and democratic education in the region.
September 05, 2024
El “Talón de Aquiles” de América Latina: Una entrevista con la experta Dra. Dinorah Azpuru, sobre el estado de derecho, democracia y educación democrática en la región
September 05, 2024
The past is the...present? How interpretations of the past are shaping democracy in Europe
August 20, 2024
Monthly Event Reports
See all the information related to countries that have updates this month.
Africa
CMR
ZMB
ZWE
LBY
MAR
RWA
ETH
SSD
BFA
GIN
MLI
TUN
ZAF
MDG
DZA
AGO
BEN
BWA
BDI
CAF
TCD
COM
CIV
CPV
COD
DJI
EGY
GNQ
ERI
GAB
GMB
SWZ
GHA
GNB
KEN
LSO
LBR
MWI
MRT
MUS
MOZ
NAM
NER
NGA
COG
SEN
SLE
SOM
SDN
TZA
TGO
UGA
Americas
MEX
ARG
CAN
USA
BRA
CHL
PER
VEN
PRY
HTI
BRB
BOL
COL
CRI
CUB
DOM
ECU
SLV
GTM
GUY
HND
JAM
NIC
PAN
SUR
TTO
URY
Asia and the Pacific
BGD
NPL
LKA
PAK
THA
NZL
MYS
TWN
MMR
TLS
AFG
JPN
AUS
BTN
KHM
CHN
PRK
FJI
IND
IDN
KAZ
KGZ
LAO
MDV
MNG
PNG
PHL
KOR
SGP
SLB
TJK
TKM
UZB
VUT
VNM
Europe
RUS
SVK
DEU
FRA
ITA
TUR
BIH
POL
FIN
GBR
ESP
UKR
HUN
KSV
ARM
CHE
ALB
AUT
AZE
BLR
BEL
BGR
HRV
CYP
CZE
DNK
EST
GEO
GRC
ISL
IRL
LVA
LTU
LUX
MLT
MDA
MNE
NLD
MKD
NOR
PRT
ROU
SRB
SVN
SWE
Western Asia
IRN
SYR
ARE
PSE
OMN
IRQ
BHR
ISR
JOR
KWT
LBN
QAT
SAU
YEM
May 2022
Malaysia
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin consequat augue non efficitur fermentum. Proin eu...
Stay updated on the Global State of Democracy
Get the latest Democracy Tracker developments delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for the Democracy Tracker monthly newsletter
Contact Us
Contact us to request tailored presentations and trainings, or to send your questions and feedback.
Funders and Donors
The Global State of Democracy Initiative is also supported by contributions of International IDEA Member States
