Rise of Authoritarianism during the Epidemic

For around half a year, the world has been going through a challenge like none other: the COVID-19 epidemic. This epidemic has posed a challenge in each individual aspect of life, including but not limited to the aspect of fundamental freedoms. Although it indeed is a serious global problem, in some parts of the world, this epidemic was used to achieve certain undesirable results. Authoritarian regimes around the world have used the epidemic as a pretext to limit and damage some of the most fundamental freedoms democracy holds dear.

The freedom of press and the freedom of speech have been especially hit in this period. The already-bad condition of these freedoms in authoritarian countries has deteriorated, so much so that there have been some circumstances where individuals and journalists who criticize the steps taken during the epidemic became more vulnerable than ever to censorship. In several cases, they were even oppressed and accused of false propaganda.

The contagious nature of the virus has also been a perfect cover for many authoritarian governments to further limit a right, the already-limited right to assembly. Individuals, groups, and NGOs who want to make their voices heard about different topics, maybe even the way the epidemic is being handled and the precautions taken, are prevented on the grounds that people would spread the virus if they came together. And if they do come together despite the clear warnings that they should not, they may find themselves in a confrontation with the law enforcement.

These rights are “fundamental human rights”, meaning that they cannot be arbitrarily put aside, even in the case of a global crisis. It can be safely said that the environment created by these freedoms has helped democracies perform better during the recovery process compared to their authoritarian counterparts simply because of the fact that a well-governed society heeds what its members say rather than oppressing and dismissing them. This understanding of democracies is based on the very basic idea of “two heads are better than one”.