Democracies across the globe are at a crossroads, as authoritarians seek to chip away at freedoms

The past year has been both a glass half empty and half full for the world's democracies. From Asia to Africa to the Americas, it produced examples of democracy working and citizens standing up against attempted coups or authoritarians. At the same time, some of the new regimes ushered in by all those elections are taking a distinctly authoritarian tack, while other troubling signs for democracy remain across the globe. There has been a notable dip in enthusiasm for democracy. A Pew poll of 24 countries found that while democracy remains the preferred system of government worldwide, there is deep dissatisfaction with how it's working.