Dear ,
I’m fascinated by time travel. That’s probably why I love the Back to the Future movies. Remember them? In the second movie, Marty McFly travels to 21 October 2015, to save his future children from a dystopian world where greed and corruption shape society. In real life, that date has long passed, but I want to take you on some time travel to where I was in 2015.
On the real 21 October 2015, I was transitioning from my work with the Belgian development agency to join a United Nations programme aimed at eradicating tuberculosis—an effort that, with enough political will, was achievable by 2030. Meanwhile, in the United States, Donald Trump was just another outrageous Republican candidate, seemingly destined to lose to Hillary Clinton. The future looked optimistic to me.
But in 2016, my optimism was shattered. Two events reshaped my life’s mission: the first-ever departure of a member state from the historic peace project that is the European Union, and the election of a racist, sexist bully as President of the most powerful country in the world. That was when I dedicated myself to defending democracy.
This is why what’s been happening in the U.S. over the last few months feels intensely personal to me. An example: Just last month, President Trump slashed 92% of USAID’s budget, gutting the U.S. foreign aid service. One tragic consequence is that tuberculosis will continue to claim millions of lives every year far beyond 2030. Much harder to quantify is the damage done to democratic progress across the globe. $3 billion in programmes funded through USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy designed to foster governance, human rights, and civil society resilience were eliminated. Without them, entire regions are left vulnerable to autocracy, corruption, and exploitation. Make no mistake: these democracy programs were not mere collateral damage in a broader attack on development assistance. They were explicitly targeted.
Now, let’s take a cue from Marty McFly and travel to the future — but we’ll need to muster our courage. We’re not traveling to 2015’s fanciful flying cars, but to a very real 2035 where the sudden collapse of development and democracy programs has unleashed chaos. Political instability has given way to repression and conflict across the Global South. Autocratic powers like China, Russia, and the Gulf States have intensified their influence, coordinating autocratisation networks globally. By 2035, 60% of the world’s population could be living under autocratising regimes—places where elections are rigged, journalists are persecuted, corruption flourishes, and the quality of life for billions declines. This is not science fiction. The V-Dem report already shows alarming trends. Without urgent action, this bleak future will become our reality.
If we want to avoid this nightmare scenario, we have to act now. This is not just a U.S. problem— a similar dismantling of social democracy is occurring across the world. Where our institutions are under attack, we must strengthen them. Where the law is violated, we must take to the courts. Where traditional alliances falter, we must build new ones.
Every democrat in the world should be asking themselves: What are we going to do to save international cooperation? If we want peace and prosperity for all, there is no alternative to democracy. And democracy needs funding.
If you believe in defending democracy, now is the time to act.
With your support, we can continue to advocate for strong democratic institutions, empower civil society, and resist the global rollback of human rights.
Donate now to support our work and to strengthen democracy worldwide.
.png "Picture of Anne Hardt, Campaigning and Fundraising Manager, Democracy International")
.png?w=560px "Image of Yasuni activists")
.png?w=560px "Image of Daniela Vancic speaking at Democracy International's workshop")
.png?w=560px "Image of Tokyo")
.png?w=560px "Image of a group of participants discussing ideas on Europe's role in the world")
.png?w=560px "Image of Swiss flags")
.png?w=560px "Image of an AfD politician looking at Swiss direct democracy, generated with AI")
