'The crisis we face is real': Blinken on why Biden is convening a Summit for Democracy

Democracy is facing a moment of reckoning.

For 15 years, global freedom has declined, according to the human rights organization Freedom House. It’s happening in authoritarian countries, where rulers have restricted people’s freedoms, canceled and postponed elections, and cracked down on political opponents with increasing brutality – and in democratic countries, where mis- and disinformation have eroded trust in public institutions, political polarization has widened, and long-standing challenges like economic inequality and systemic sexism and racism have left many feeling like the system won’t ever work for them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made these problems more acute. Unscrupulous leaders have seized the opportunity to crush freedom of assembly and crank up surveillance, and false information about the virus and vaccines has spread widely.