Democratic Backsliding in Europe: Who is to Blame?

Rising nationalism and anti-EU sentiment, coupled with Russian and Chinese malign influence, erodes democracy in some European countries.

The latest Freedom House report is particularly damning.

The proportion of countries deemed ‘not free’ is now the highest it has been in the past 15 years.

The EU, once an oasis of democracy and human rights, is now facing serious challenges particularly in former communist states.

There is a serious democratic backsliding in Poland, Hungary and Serbia, along with a steady erosion in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Freedom House uses a 1 to 7 ‘Democracy Score’ deduced from the…