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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

Why is democracy backsliding around the world?

By Evan Dawson,
Veronica Volk, Julie Williams
Published September 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM EDT
Valery Perry with host Evan Dawson on "Connections" on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025.
George Yeadon
/
WXXI News
Valery Perry with host Evan Dawson on "Connections" on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025.

One in three elections around the world is being contested. Turnout is dropping. By many indicators, democracy is backsliding.

So what can reverse this trend?

Valery Perry, Ph.D., is a senior associate for the Democratization Policy Council. She's concerned with trends abroad... and with trends in the United States, including, as she puts it, the "hacking of the federal civil service."

Perry, a western New York native, joins us in studio before she returns to Europe.

Our guest:

  • Valery Perry, Ph.D., senior associate for the Democratization Policy Council

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Veronica Volk
Veronica Volk is a senior producer and editor for WXXI News.
See stories by Veronica Volk
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams