Context: According to the latest report of the V-Dem Institute on the state of democracy globally, India has figured in the top 10 autocratising countries of the world along with El Salvador, Turkey and Hungary, with projections ominously indicating that there will be a further decline in democracy in the country.
Background

• After being classified as ‘electoral autocracy’ in the last year’s report, India continues to hold on to its dubious honour even in this year’s report. 
• Consequently, India finds itself in the category of the bottom 40% to 50% of countries. Much of the slide in India’s democratic credentials has occurred in the years following the rise and consolidation of power by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after 2014.

About the report

• The study, titled ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratisation Changing Nature?’ states that more than twice as many countries are undergoing Autocratisation as are witnessing democratization.
• The conceptual scheme takes into account not only the electoral dimension (free and fair elections) but also the liberal principle that democracy must protect “individual and minority rights”.

The V-Dem report classifies countries into four regime types based on their score in the Liberal Democratic Index (LDI):

• Liberal Democracy
• Electoral Democracy
• Electoral Autocracy and
• Closed Autocracy

What is the report’s methodology?

• Since key features of democracy, such as, judicial independence, are not directly measurable, and to rule out distortions due to subjective judgments, V-Dem uses aggregate expert judgments.
• It gathers data from a pool of over 3,700 experts worldwide who provide judgments on different concepts and cases.
• Leveraging the diverse opinions, the V-Dem’s measurement model algorithmically.

The Liberal Democratic Index (LDI)
The LDI captures both liberal and electoral aspects of a democracy based on 71 indicators that make up the:

• Liberal Component Index (LCI): It measures aspects such as protection of individual liberties and legislative constraints on the executive.
• Electoral Democracy Index (EDI): It considers indicators that guarantee free and fair elections such as freedom of expression and freedom of association.

In addition, the LDI also uses:

• Egalitarian Component Index (to what extent different social groups are equal)
• Participatory Component Index (health of citizen groups, civil society organisations) and
• Deliberative Component Index (whether political decisions are taken through public reasoning focused on common good or through emotional appeals, solidarity attachments, coercion)

Highlights of the report

• The democratic gains of the post-Cold War period are eroding rapidly in the last few years.
• Autocratisation is spreading rapidly, with a record of 33 countries autocratising.
• The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels.
• While Sweden topped the LDI index, other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway, along with Costa Rica and New Zealand make up the top five in liberal democracy rankings.

Global scenario 

• As for the global scenario is concerned, the report reveals that the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels. “The last 30 years of democratic advances are now eradicated.”
• It has ominously pointed out that dictatorships are on the rise, affecting nearly 70% (5.4 billion) of the global population. However, it states that the “nature of autocratisation is changing”.
• “Like many other observers around the world, we are deeply concerned with the decline of democracy over the past decade. This year’s Democracy Report documents a continuation of that trend during 2021,” says the V-Dem Institute’s team in its foreword to the report.
• It also adds that ‘electoral autocracy’ – of which India is part – remains the most common regime type, affecting 44% of the world’s population, or 3.4 billion people.

What does the report say about India?

• India is one of the top ten ‘autocratisers’ in the world says the report.
• The report classifies India as an autocracy (‘electoral autocracy’) rather than a democracy, ranking it 93rd on the liberal democracy index, out of 179 countries.

The report notes that India is part of a broader global trend of an anti-plural political party driving a country’s Autocratisation.

• Ranked 93rd in the LDI, India figures in the “bottom 50%” of countries.
• It has slipped further down in the Electoral Democracy Index, to 100, and even lower in the Deliberative Component Index, at 102.
• In South Asia, India is ranked below Sri Lanka (88), Nepal (71), and Bhutan (65) and above Pakistan (117) in the LDI.

Concerns raised by the report

• (Communal) Polarisation: The report also points out that “toxic levels of polarisation contribute to electoral victories of anti-pluralist leaders and the empowerment of their autocratic agendas”.
• Rise of political hate speeches: The report states that measures of polarisation of society, political polarisation, and political parties’ use of hate speech tend to systematically rise together to extreme levels.
• Misinformation as a policy tool: The report identified “misinformation” as a key tool deployed by autocratising governments to sharpen polarisation and shape domestic and international opinion.
• Repression of civil society and censorship of media: These were other favored tools of autocratising regimes.
• Declining autonomy of Election bodies: The report also found that decisive autonomy for the electoral management body (EMB) deteriorated in 25 countries.

Note: The west uses every nook and corner to bully India in all walks of life. This report is an evidence. It ranks India as more autocratic than Pakistan (where democracy is a namesake joke). Credibility of such reports are definitely questionable. But we as an aspirant have to take cognisance of such reports (but not very seriously).