Global Trends: The Erosion of Democracy and Worsening of Governance. The Result of the 2022 BTI

On 6th February, we had the privilege of welcoming Ms Sabine Donner and Mr Hauke Hartmann, Project directors from the German Foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung, to present the main results of their most recent Transformation Index BTI 2022.

The Transformation Index BTI documents a creeping autocratization over the past 10 years: The quality of democracy has declined in nearly one in five democracies, including once-stable Brazil, Hungary, India or Poland. Meanwhile, many autocracies have further expanded their repression, abuses of power, and restrictions on the freedoms of expression and assembly. Democracy erosion goes hand in hand with worsening governance in efficiency, consensus-building and cooperation.

The BTI (www.bti-project.org), coordinated by the German foundation Bertelsmann Stiftung, analyses and evaluates the status of political and economic transformation and the quality of governance in 137 developing and transformation countries.