Portugal suffers from the erosion of political representation in a report on democracies – Executive summary

Portugal was one of the countries that suffered one of the largest declines in the Political Representation Index, in the annual State of Global Democracies report, released today, which reveals the weakness of democratic systems at the global level.

In terms of political representation – the index that measures the way citizens feel represented by elected officials – Portugal fell from ninth place to 22nd place last year, having already been in third place, in 2017, in the “ranking”. From 173 countries, in a study conducted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an intergovernmental organization based in Stockholm (Sweden).

IDEA highlights the fact that Portugal belongs to a large group of countries that have fallen significantly in this indicator over the past six years, despite maintaining a good position, even compared to other European countries.

In another related indicator (among 17 analysed), on civic engagement (the way people seek to intervene in the democratic process), Portugal rose seven places (from 76th to 69th), compared to the previous year, to maintain first place. Half of the “arrangement”.

In the Civil Rights Index, Portugal maintained the 31st position it already held in 2021 and in 2017, however, in the Rule of Law Index (one of those revealing the greatest erosion globally), Portugal fell only one place from 33rd. .to 34th place since 2021, but the drop since 2017 was 12 places.

In its annual report, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance highlights that several democracies with strong traditions in Europe recorded a decline in their democratic performance, including Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom, in the rule of law category.

Yet the European continent remains one of the best-performing regions on the entire planet, with encouraging signs, especially in Central Europe, indicating significant progress in democratic performance.

According to the State of World Democracy 2023 report, nearly half (85) of the 173 countries surveyed saw a decline in at least one key indicator of democratic performance over the past five years, based on 17 criteria ranging from freedoms to civil and judicial rights. independence.