Happy Dog Takes on the World

According to Freedom House, from 1973 to 2005, the number of democracies worldwide increased dramatically, however, over the past decade, the organization recorded a decline in global freedom. From India to Turkey, from Poland to Russia, we've seen democracy give way to autocracy.

The U.S. was not immune to this trend. For more the 200 years, Americans have held fast to the country's seemingly impenetrable democratic systems and institutions, in checks and balances, and separation of powers. However, in January 2017, The Economist downgraded the U.S.’s democratic ranking from "full democracy” to “flawed democracy.” The ranking, while surprising to many, is arguably reflective of the shifts in the global thoughts about democracy - only one-third of millennials worldwide believe that “it is extremely important to live in a democracy,” and one in six Americans thinks that military rule is a good form of government. How did we arrive here? Can – and should – democracy be saved?

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