Trend · rank 14 of 250

Erosion of rights & civic freedoms

Restrictions on association, expression, media and opposition are widening in many states, removing the independent scrutiny and feedback that governments need to detect and correct their own failures.

Governance & IntegrityState capacity & governancepoliticsinstitutionsinformation

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass unchanged. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
14of 250
Sensitivity
19.2rank 28
Breadth
1of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
81.8rank 8
Eigenvector
92.2
Betweenness
28.3
Links
28trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
54.0

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Now
80
Over a year
−10%Steady
Over three years
−22%
Peak
16828 Apr 2024
Sources
Bothagreement 0.55
Coverage
19languages · 49 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (19 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English56%96−11%
German8%74−25%
Russian6%90−8%
Japanese6%93+9%
Chinese6%106+21%
French4%89−10%
Italian3%83+8%
Spanish3%148+73%
Arabic1%92+26%
Turkish1%119+4%
Portuguese1%122+32%
Korean1%119+28%
Polish1%92−21%
Persian1%129+31%
Indonesian1%78−5%
Ukrainian1%97+35%
Hebrew1%101+87%
Dutch0%73−17%
Bengali0%118+77%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

United States

Philippines

Canada

Singapore

Australia

United Kingdom

India

New Zealand

Nigeria

Ireland

Kenya

Nepal

100

64

46

43

39

32

29

29

29

25

25

25

The 12 highest of 49 nations with a reading.

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English83+6%−21%−24%
EuropeGoogle in 4 countries + Wikipedia in German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch73−17%−25%−41%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 7 countries + Wikipedia in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian92+0%−3%−21%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country + Wikipedia in Bengali102+26%+24%+1%
Gulf and Middle EastWikipedia in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew110+12%+27%+13%
AfricaGoogle in 2 countries54−54%−0%−46%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 1 country + Wikipedia in Spanish, Portuguese111+13%+27%−0%
Russia and EurasiaWikipedia in Russian, Ukrainian92+10%−1%−32%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
AustraliaGoogle87+20%−24%−17%
BrazilGoogle + Wikipedia in Portuguese103+15%+15%−12%
CanadaGoogle75−1%−36%−37%
FranceGoogle + Wikipedia in French72−8%−15%−46%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German72−27%−25%−40%
IndiaGoogle + Wikipedia in Bengali102+26%+24%+1%
IndonesiaGoogle + Wikipedia in Indonesian63−12%−8%−55%
ItalyGoogle + Wikipedia in Italian73−9%−7%−37%
JapanGoogle + Wikipedia in Japanese96+6%−7%−15%
South KoreaGoogle + Wikipedia in Korean145+17%+82%+85%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian90+4%−8%−30%
South AfricaGoogle72−50%−23%−2%
TürkiyeWikipedia in Turkish119+16%+4%+23%
United KingdomGoogle64−22%−55%−40%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English82+10%−20%−26%

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
5 · Very highA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
3 · ModerateHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
3 · ModerateA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
2 · LowA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
2 · LowA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
1 · Very lowA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
1 · Very lowA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
1 · Very lowTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
1 · Very lowA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
1 · Very lowAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health
1 · Very lowA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
5 · Very highDecline of independent journalismInformation & trust29
4 · HighState capacity & deliveryState capacity & governance1
4 · HighRule of law & judicial independenceState capacity & governance3
4 · HighExecutive overreach & emergency powersState capacity & governance4
4 · HighCorruption & state captureState capacity & governance5
4 · HighDeclining institutional trustInformation & trust7
4 · HighPolarisation & populismState capacity & governance15
4 · HighCivil unrest & protest mobilisationState capacity & governance25
4 · HighElection integrity & interferenceInformation & trust57
4 · HighCitizen participation & deliberative democracyState capacity & governance60
3 · ModerateCivil service capability & payState capacity & governance2
3 · ModeratePublic procurement capabilityState capacity & governance6
3 · ModerateRegulatory capture & lobbying powerState capacity & governance8
3 · ModeratePublic communication in crisisInformation & trust10
3 · ModerateLocal & city government capacityState capacity & governance11
3 · ModerateSocial protection coverage gapsState capacity & governance13
3 · ModerateFiscal rules & budget credibilityState capacity & governance17
3 · ModerateOfficial statistics & data capacityState capacity & governance21
3 · ModerateOutsourcing & public-private deliveryState capacity & governance27
3 · ModerateMisinformation & disinformationInformation & trust30
3 · ModerateCentral bank independence under pressureState capacity & governance64
3 · ModerateConspiracy movements & science denialInformation & trust68
3 · ModerateForeign information manipulationInformation & trust91
3 · ModeratePlatform power over public discourseInformation & trust99
3 · ModerateCensorship & surveillanceInformation & trust103
3 · ModerateAsylum & migration system strainState capacity & governance115
3 · ModerateReligious & identity nationalismInformation & trust122
3 · ModerateDiaspora politics & transnational repressionInformation & trust176