The tide of global democratic change, which at the start of the new millennium looked like an unstoppable force of nature, has been turned back over the last decade. How serious and prolonged this reversal turns out to be is open to question. What cannot be doubted is the direction of travel. In its most recent annual survey, the respected think tank Freedom House recorded a net decline in world freedom for the eighth year in a row. While political rights and civil liberties improved in 40 countries, they deteriorated in 54.
在新世紀的開端，全球民主化變革大潮似乎是一股勢不可擋的自然力量，而在過去10年，這股浪潮卻發生了逆轉。逆轉的嚴重程度和持續時間還未可知。但其行進方向卻無可置疑。頗受尊敬的智庫自由之家(Freedom House)最近發表的一份年度調查顯示，世界的自由程度連續第8年淨下降。儘管40個國家的政治權利和公民自由得到了改善，54個國家的情況卻惡化了。
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