Biden's democracy summit already sending wrong signals to authoritarian regimes

This year, 2021, has been a record-breaking one in many ways, and unfortunately, according to Freedom House’s 2020 Freedom of the World Report, the world is at a 15-year low for "Free countries" and a 15-year high of "Not Free countries." We find democracy in retreat across the globe, and the trends are more worrying each day. 

Some are quick to blame the COVID-19 pandemic for this democratic backsliding, citing lockdowns and mandates as the drivers of decline. Authoritarian governments have unquestionably used the pandemic as an excuse to further limit free speech and freedom of assembly, however, this pattern started more than a decade ago.  

To reverse course and find a path forward, we have to differentiate between the symptoms and the disease: authoritarianism.