Each year on September 15, the United Nations marks the International Day of Democracy — a day to celebrate the ideals of political freedom, the rule of law, justice, and equal participation. This year, those ideals feel more akin to a cruel joke or a slap to the face. This September 15 is less of  a cause for celebration and more like a call to urgent action. For as much as the United States has long cast itself as a beacon of democracy, the past year has revealed mounting cracks in its democratic foundations, and eyes around the world are taking notice.

Some in the United States applaud themselves on this nonsensical idea that this country is the greatest country on earth. Yes, this country with stark inequality, rampant racism and sexism, and limited access to healthcare compared to other “developed” nations. The abject failures at every opportunity for this country to be decent in the realm of human rights leaves many to question if we are or were ever great.

One thing often hailed as the epitome of our greatness, however, is our commitment to democracy: equal protection and participation for everyone. The creed forced upon us since kindergarten ended with the phrase, “with liberty and justice for all.” This notion, though optimistic, has never actually been a reality for all, but now the wounds of our nation have been further brought to light.

As we reflect on our  democracy, we are also subject every day to attempts to weaken the independence of the courts; restrictions on voting rights; political rhetoric that undermines confidence in elections; encroachments on access to justice. These are not hypothetical risks — they are unfolding, and they are being recognized abroad with growing alarm.

Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently lamented that the United States has undergone a “shift in direction.” He highlighted the dangerous usage of divisive rhetoric and expressed concern over policies that mislabel anti-discrimination efforts as discriminatory themselves. 

Earlier this year the United States was even added to Civicus’s “Watchlist” for rapid decline in civic freedoms. The reasons cited include restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, expression; firing of federal employees for political loyalty; and broader erosion of democratic norms. 

And polling across the pond suggests a steep decline in confidence toward the U.S., especially under Trump’s second term. Europeans increasingly express concern that American democratic commitments are weakening, and that U.S. leadership is no longer a sure guardrail against authoritarian trends. 

The country that holds itself out to be a bastion of democracy has now been called out by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in a recent report, warning that democratic backsliding under President Trump not only threatens domestic institutions but also emboldens autocrats globally. The U.S.’s actions are affecting global norms around executive overreach, suppression of dissent, and trust in certified election results. 

Why It Matters

Democracy is not just a domestic affair. The U.S. has long served (for better and worse) as a model, moral authority, and point of comparison for other countries. When core democratic mechanisms falter here — when courts are questioned, elections are contested, voter suppression becomes more rampant and sophisticated — it undercuts not only domestic confidence but global faith in democratic governance.

When foreign governments and other global institutions see this country as drifting away from norms around justice, participation, and rule of law, it lowers the bar for what is acceptable elsewhere. The U.S., by example, has the power both to inspire resilience in democracy abroad and to embolden those who would erode democracy at home.

Make Democracy Great Again

For this International Day of Democracy, we must do more than acknowledge the threats: we must act.

1. Protect the vote. Reject and overturn laws and policies that disproportionately restrict access to ballots. Strengthen oversight, transparency, and accountability in how elections are run.
2. Defend the courts and rule of law. Ensure judicial independence, resist politicization of prosecutors and law enforcement, and maintain checks and balances.
3. Restore access to justice. Strengthen legal aid, ensure due process is not curtailed by shaky court decisions, budget cuts or political interference, and protect civil society and free speech.
4. Build public awareness and civic engagement. Democracy depends not just on institutions but on people. Mobilize voters, inform communities, defend truth, and resist the normalization of anti-democratic rhetoric.
5. Defend and protect freedom of the press. Democracy doesn’t work if people are not allowed to be informed on what their leaders are doing and with challenges to speaking the truth about society without fear of retribution. 
6. Hold leaders accountable. We must use elections, oversight bodies, media, and civil society to push back against threats to democratic norms wherever they arise.

The United States was once seen by some as a symbol: of free speech, fair courts, peaceful elections, and the enduring idea that government’s power is derived by the people, for the people. Conceptually, if we stuck to our ideals, this country had the potential to actually be great: if we championed our diversity instead of attacked it; if we encouraged participation in society instead of reserving it for a select few;if we did more than pretend to care about liberty and justice for all. These are the ideas underpinning a great democracy. Though we had  yet to live up to its ideals, we are straying further away from democracy each passing day.

This year, let September 15 not just be a day of recognition, but of reckoning. Democracy is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. Let us restore those democratic ideals, not just in word, but in practice.