Mar 2, 2021 Will 2021 be marked as a turning point for the decline of democracy, or will it prevail over an authoritarian regime? For democracy to prevail in the Indo-Pacific region, cooperation between Japan and Australia, as well as with the United States and the United Kingdom, is likely to be the key. Concerns over democracy increased at the start of the year. The attack by rioters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was arguably the moment when global confidence toward the United States, a country which has led democratic nations for years, greatly wavered. China, meanwhile, has boasted of its dramatic economic recovery, building up confidence in its political system by repeatedly criticizing the vulnerability of democracies.