Global Trends in Democracy: Background, U.S. Policy, and Issues for Congress

"Widespread concerns exist among analysts and policymakers over the current trajectory of democracy around the world. Congress has often played an important role in supporting and institutionalizing U.S. democracy promotion, and current developments may have implications for U.S. policy, which for decades has broadly reflected the view that the spread of democracy around the world is favorable to U.S. interests.

The aggregate level of democracy around the world has not advanced for more than a decade. Analysis of data trendlines from two major global democracy indexes indicates that, as of 2017, the level of democracy around the world has not advanced since around the year 2005 or 2006. Although the degree of democratic backsliding around the world has arguably been modest overall to this point, some elements of democracy, particularly those associated with liberal democracy, have receded during this period. Declines in democracy that have occurred may have disproportionately affected countries with larger population sizes. Overall, this data indicates that democracy’s expansion has been more challenged during this period than during any similar period dating back to the 1970s. Despite this, democratic declines to this point have been considerably less severe than the more pronounced setbacks that occurred during some earlier periods in the 20th century..."
Democracy and global trends

Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
"Members of Congress:
On behalf of the National Science and Technology Council, the U.S. Global Change Research Program is pleased to transmit to the President and the Congress this state of knowledge report: “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States.” This report summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future.

As our nation strives to develop effective policies to respond to climate change, it is critical to have the latest and best scientific information to inform decision making. More than a year in the making, this report provides that information. It is the first report in almost a decade to provide an extensive evaluation of climate change impacts on the United States at the regional level.

An expert team of scientists operating under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, assisted by communication specialists, wrote the document. The report was reviewed and revised based on comments from experts and the public in accordance with the Information Quality Act guidelines issued by the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration..."

Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World
"We prepared Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World to stimulate strategic
thinking about the future by identifying key trends, the factors that drive them, where they seem to be headed, and how they might interact. It uses scenarios to illustrate some of the many ways in which the drivers examined in the study (e.g., globalization, demography, the rise of new powers, the decay of international institutions, climate change, and the geopolitics of energy) may interact to generate challenges and opportunities for future decisionmakers. The study as a whole is more a description of the factors likely to shape events than a prediction of what will actually happen..."