This book is the first part of the Democracy series, a series of three books. Over the past years, the absolute number of democracies has been eroding. 70 % of the global population now lives either in non-democratic regimes or in democratically backsliding countries. The percentage of the world’s population living in high-performing democracies is only 9 %. Incumbent leaders are increasingly using force to crush opponents and settle scores, while beleaguered activists—lacking effective international support—face heavy jail sentences, torture, or murder in many settings. The oppressive and often violent authoritarian forces tipped the international order in their favour time and again. The enemies of freedom have pushed the false narrative that democracy is in decline because it is incapable of addressing people’s needs. The impact of the long-term democratic decline has become increasingly global in nature, broad enough to be felt by those living under barbaric dictatorships as well a