The fate of democracy around the world is the subject of much debate. There are disturbing data points, particularly around press freedom, which are setting off alarms. There are worrying illiberal and authoritarian turns, concerns about election administration and integrity, and pockets of anxiety about the peaceful transfer of power. That said, there are also some notable positive data points which should not be overlooked. Just look at the developments of the last few weeks.

Serbia held an election that saw voter turnout at nearly 70 percent—its highest level since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992. There, a student-led protest movement defeated Aleksandar Vučić, a populist who has dominated Serbian politics since 2014.

In Brazil, where voting is mandatory but fines for abstention light, turnout eclipsed 80 percent. Three million people who did not vote in round one cast a ballot in the second round, returning eighty-one-year-old Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a fourth term.  

And in Israel, an estimated sixty-seven thousand Israelis living abroad flew back to Israel to vote, adding to the historic turnout in what was viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nineteen years of governing, including his handling of Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

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