Israel has been redefined as an electoral democracy because of the government’s interference in the powers of the Supreme Court.
For the first time in 50 years Israel is no longer defined as a liberal democracy by global democracy index V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy but rather as an electoral democracy. The reason for the demotion is the interference in the powers of the Supreme Court to strike down law as part of the current government’s judicial overhaul and the attack by ministers on the judicial system.
V-Dem ranks countries, it claims, according to “a unique approach to measuring democracy – historical, multidimensional, nuanced, and disaggregated – employing state of the art methodology.”
According to the report, the Middle East and North Africa are the world’s most autocratic region with 98% of the population living in autocracies. 45% live in closed autocracies like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Libya while 53% live in electoral autocracies like Turkey and Iraq.
Other countries defined by V-Dem as an electoral democracy are Austria, Cyprus, Moldova, Panama and Argentina.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on March 20, 2024.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2024.
The Supreme Court, Jerusalem credit: Seth Aronstam/Shutterstock