I don't know what to think of this article.
On the one hand, I agree with most of the author's observations.
But on the other hand, I'm left with a bitter taste in my mouth, because I feel that the author is being wilfully ignorant of why certain states turn towards what he perceives to be authoritarianism.
The author's first mistake is to set the United States as the benchmark for democracy, which is quite ironic given the utter dysfunctional state of US politics and society - from unprecedented income inequality and the domination of politics by special interest groups, to ongoing discrimination against minorities and having by far the largest prison population in the world.
To top it off, the author affords the US special responsibility to "promote democracy" abroad.
Isn't this the same US that undermined democracy in Iran in 1953, in Venezuela in 2002, and in Ukraine in 2014? Isn't this the same US that invaded and occupied Afghanistan and Iraq?
More recently, the US was found to be spying on nearly every single person on this planet. More disturbingly, the US was found to be spying on the very dissidents and democracy activists it purported to support, including in Iran.
The author identifies 2005 as the peak year for democracy, with the spread of democracy stagnating or receding from then on. But he completely misses one of the most important turning points in the democratic narrative: the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003. The killing of hundreds of thousands of people, the displacement of millions more, and the complete destruction of Iraqi society... in order to "spread democracy".
The author points the finger at other states for using soft power to "discredit" American democracy. But who is the one actually discrediting American democracy? Is it not the American political system itself?
The author completely ignores the fact that many people around the world simply do not look up to the US any more. Many people actually view the US as their biggest enemy.
My diatribe aside, the best counter-argument to this article was published by Foreign Affairs Magazine in 2013: The End Of Hypocrisy. I'll let the professionals do the talking.