With authoritarian influences on the rise and American’s leadership declining, the COVID-19 pandemic has landed at a time when democracy is already suffering.
On the eve of the 2020 US elections, America’s role as the defender of global democracy has come under fire as the country has been rocked by rising inequality, an assault on democratic norms, internal protests and international critique for its handling of the pandemic.
How have authoritarian leaders taken advantage of the health crisis to weaken political rights and civil liberties and can the United States and its European partners influence these trends at a time when they face internal challenges in their own democracies?
