Charted: It's Actually Common to Indict Leaders of Democracies

78 leaders in 53 democratic or semi-democratic countries have been indicted since 2000.

VIEW IN BROWSER It's Actually Common to Indict Leaders of Democracies By Ashley Ahn and Brawley Benson When Donald Trump became the first former United States president to face federal criminal charges on June 9, it set the scene for a legal battle that could test the U.S. judicial and political systems. The charges—37 in total—are related to Trump's storage of highly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. While Trump has pleaded not guilty, the American public will closely follow his case to see what it reveals about America's ability to hold its most powerful citizens to account. Trump is already claiming the indictment is a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" by the Biden administration. READ MORE "They are also going after me as RETRIBUTION for the Republicans in Congress going after them," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, days before the indictment. "The difference is, they have created major crimes, I have created none!" Many Republicans are similarly questioning the motivation and timing of the indictment release. Sen. Ted Cruz called it "political persecution," while former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker called it the "stuff of a banana republic." But despite claims that prosecuting Trump means a slide into autocracy, the indictment and conviction of former leaders in democratic and semi-democratic countries around the world is, in fact, quite common. A Foreign Policy analysis found that at least 78 leaders in 53 democratic or semi-democratic countries—the vast majority of which have successfully held democratic elections following the indictments—have been indicted since 2000. Countries and territories with a "partly free" or "free" score on Freedom House's global freedom ranking, a total of 143, were included in this analysis. SEE FP'S FULL ANALYSIS More From FP How to Curb Corruption in Ukraine's Postwar Reconstruction Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan on managing malfeasance while rebuilding. By Eugene Z. Stakhiv, Stuart W. Bowen Jr. Did Trump's Bathroom Stash Threaten National Security? An indictment of the ex-president overshadows the beginning of Ukraine's counteroffensive. By Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig Netanyahu Faces His Own 'Israeli Spring' Protesters in Israel are rallying to oppose an extremist and fundamentalist government that is trying to change the status quo and reshape the country's character. By Aaron David Miller Zuma's Arrest Is a Victory for the Rule of Law in South Africa By imprisoning a former president, the country has set an example for constitutional democracies across the world. By Eusebius McKaiser How to Curb Corruption in Ukraine's Postwar Reconstruction Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan on managing malfeasance while rebuilding. By Eugene Z. Stakhiv, Stuart W. Bowen Jr. Did Trump's Bathroom Stash Threaten National Security? An indictment of the ex-president overshadows the beginning of Ukraine's counteroffensive. By Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig Netanyahu Faces His Own 'Israeli Spring' Protesters in Israel are rallying to oppose an extremist and fundamentalist government that is trying to change the status quo and reshape the country's character. By Aaron David Miller Zuma's Arrest Is a Victory for the Rule of Law in South Africa By imprisoning a former president, the country has set an example for constitutional democracies across the world. By Eusebius McKaiser Expert voices. Intelligent analysis. Gain a deeper understanding of the world with FP's daily analysis of politics and international affairs. SUBSCRIBE NOW Want to receive FP newsletters? Manage your FP newsletter preferences. MANAGE YOUR EMAIL PREFERENCES  |  VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY  |  UNSUBSCRIBE  Reach the right online audience with us. Foreign Policy is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents © 2023 Graham Digital Holding Company LLC. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 655 15th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20005.