Democracy at risk 16 Dec 2020 STERLING, VA - DECEMBER 13: Supporters gather outside Trump National Golf Club as U.S. President Donald Trump departs following a round of golf on December 13, 2020 in Sterling, Virginia. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images) Fiercely contested elections can signal a healthy democracy. The free flow of divergent ideas are the bread and butter of democratic processes. Attempts to discredit election outcomes because a candidate doesn’t like them are different. Such delegitimisation regularly occurs elsewhere. But few expected such authoritarian tendencies would haunt the recent American election. The international community watches the United States in disbelief as those who do not accept the election results have put regulations and institutions protecting the rule of law in the crosshairs.