Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report finds

A new study reveals that climate-driven disasters disrupted 23 elections in 18 countries this year, signaling a direct and growing threat to democratic processes worldwide. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report finds

Contesto

In a stark warning for global governance, a new report has found that climate-related natural hazards disrupted at least 23 national elections and referendums across 18 different countries in 2024 alone. The research, which analyzed two decades of electoral data, concludes that the integrity of democratic processes is under mounting threat from the cascading effects of the climate crisis, with extreme weather events increasingly shaping political outcomes alongside traditional political forces. The study documents a clear and alarming trend over the last twenty years, identifying at least 94 instances where elections were significantly disrupted by climate impacts. These disruptions have occurred in 52 countries, indicating that the phenomenon is widespread and not confined to any single region. The mechanisms of disruption are varied and profound, ranging from the physical destruction of polling stations by floods or wildfires to the mass displacement of voters, logistical paralysis of electoral commissions, and the diversion of critical state resources from election management to emergency response. This interference strikes at the core of democratic principles. When citizens cannot safely reach a polling place, when voter rolls are rendered inaccurate by displacement, or when campaigning is silenced by a state of emergency, the fundamental right to participate in a free and fair election is compromised. The report suggests that these events can erode public trust in electoral legitimacy, fuel political instability, and create openings for authoritarian narratives that exploit crisis conditions to undermine democratic norms. The 2024 disruptions provide a snapshot of a global pattern. While the specific countries were not named in the available summary, the scale—affecting nearly two dozen elections in a single year—points to a systemic vulnerability. Analysts note that the risk is not evenly distributed; nations with less resilient infrastructure, weaker institutions, and higher baseline exposure to climate hazards are disproportionately affected. However, even wealthy democracies are not immune, as seen in recent years with wildfires impacting political...

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Categoria: cronaca