BREAKING DOWN DEMOCRACY: Goals, Strategies, and Methods of Modern Authoritarians MAJOR DECLINES FOR INFLUENTIAL COUNTRIES OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS 0 —— — — —— — > < « < @ s Se & & 5 5 -c 2 @ = on a s Gd ie 2 o £ < = a E=) = c = a © 5 a a o = oon = a > q oy = S i ¢ § -10 10 2 E 2 12 12 12 33 < Zz -15 i=} = 16 = -17 -17 £ E 3 -20 3 ir -21 i= & a 5 -2 5 -25 -28 -30 weakening of political pluralism. Russia has also and practically all of the authoritarian states in moved aggressively against neighboring states the Middle East. where democratic institutions have emerged or where democratic movements have succeeded ¢ The toxic combination of unfair elections and in ousting corrupt authoritarian leaders. crude majoritarianism is spreading from modern authoritarian regimes to illiberal leaders in what ¢ The rewriting of history for political purposes is are still partly democratic countries. Increasing- common among modern authoritarians. Again, ly, populist politicians—once in office—claim Russia has taken the lead, with the state's asser- the right to suppress the media, civil society, tion of authority over history textbooks and the and other democratic institutions by citing process, encouraged by Putin, of reassessing support from a majority of voters. The resulting the historical role of Joseph Stalin. changes make it more difficult for the opposi- tion to compete in future elections and can pave ¢ The hiring of political consultants and lobbyists the way for a new authoritarian regime. from democratic countries to represent the interests of autocracies is a growing phenome- e An expanding cadre of politicians in democ- non. China is clearly in the vanguard, with multi- racies are eager to emulate or cooperate with ple representatives working for the state and for authoritarian rulers. European parties of the large economic entities closely tied to the state. nationalistic right and anticapitalist left have But there are also K Street representatives for expressed admir