This lecture examines the scope, extent and causes of the global democratic recession of the last fifteen years, which has been gathering momentum in the last few years. During this period, there has been a broad global shift in an authoritarian direction, with some liberal democracies becoming less liberal, many electoral democracies becoming competitive authoritarian regimes, and many authoritarian regimes becoming less pluralistic and more repressive. After reviewing the principal dimensions and statistical trends of the recession, it analyzes the forms of democratic backsliding (particularly through populism and executive abuse of power) and the domestic and international causes (including weak institutions, bad governance, policy failures, social media, rising inequality, and shifts in global power). Finally, it considers possible new developments and policy changes that might alter the current trends, including the current difficulties of powerful authoritarian states such as Russia and China, and possible new geopolitical developments.