Democracy Digest: Gloom, Doom and Silver Linings

Four out of the five categories that make up the average score deteriorated. Civil liberties: down. Political culture: down. Functioning of government: down. Electoral processes and pluralism: you guessed it.

The only category that registered an uptick was "political participation", reflecting "a rising tide of popular protest" that "shook regimes run by despots and democrats alike".

"The willingness of populations to take to the streets to express their opposition to the established order, to protest against official measures, unjust laws and corruption and to demand change resulted in improved scores for political participation in many countries and across the regions," the EIU report said.

In Central and Southeast Europe, mass street protests were among the defining images of 2019, with demonstrators venting anger at the status quo in Albania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and elsewhere.

Despite the unrest, much of Central and Southeast Europe remains stuck in a familiar democratic rut as countries' "democracy scores" fell or stagnated in 2019, the EIU said.

"This mixed picture suggests that Eastern Europe's democratic malaise persists amid a weak political culture, difficulties in safeguarding the rule of law, endemic corruption, a rejection by some countries of 'liberal' democratic values and a preference for 'strongmen' who bypass political institutions, all of which creates a weak foundation for democracy."

Eastern Europe's democratic malaise persists amid a weak political culture, difficulties in safeguarding the rule of law, endemic corruption, a rejection by some countries of 'liberal' democratic values and a preference for 'strongmen' who bypass political...