Washington • Our conversations about the global retreat of democracy usually highlight its impact on those in relatively well-off nations with long-established traditions of free elections, free speech and a free media.
But David Miliband, the chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, reminded us in a recent speech that the effects of what he called the “democratic recession” are being felt most catastrophically by civilians living in lawless failed states, many of them caught up in civil wars and waves of persecution. As moral inhibitions are swept away, innocents are exposed to unspeakable horror.
Miliband called ours the “Age of Impunity,” a moment “when those engaged in conflicts around the world — and there are many — believe they can get away with anything, including murder, whatever the rules and norms.