In the United States and much of Western Europe, the current crisis is mostly about what political scientists call “democratic backsliding”: the weakening of democratic institutions in countries that have long enjoyed them. But around the globe, the most striking aspect of the current moment may be “democratic despondency”: The number of countries aspiring to democracy has fallen to a record low.

At the end of the Cold War, all signs pointed in the direction of democracy. People around the world aspired to live the American dream—to experience the affluence portrayed in Hollywood movies as well as the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Other Western democracies looked stable and successful, inspiring citizens of other countries who sought to be well governed to fight for a democracy of their own. And the United States was the world’s only superpower, limiting the geopolitical ambitions of dictators, and even providing them with an incentive to rule with a gloved fist.

The changes of the past three decades have fundamentally reduced the appeal of democracy. Those who are primarily interested in material wealth can now aspire to live in affluent autocracies such as China or the United Arab Emirates; for many citizens of the world’s poorest countries, the dream of living the good life is no longer synonymous with the dream of living in a democratic country. Many democracies are now rife with acrid divisions and face domestic challenges to their stability; this strain on democratic institutions is especially pronounced in the United States. And the power of the democratic world is being challenged by a rising China and a revanchist Russia; the world’s dictators can turn to resurgent authoritarian regimes for economic investments, military supplies, and international legitimacy.