“The global struggle for democracy approached a possible turning point in 2022,” Freedom House writes in its latest annual report on political rights and civil liberties around the world. “There were signs … that the world’s long freedom recession may be bottoming out, which would set the stage for a future recovery.” Freedom shrunk for the 17th straight year over the past 12 months, but did so only slightly this time, with 34 countries growing freer and 35 less free. In addition, “the year’s events showed that autocrats are far from infallible, and their errors provide openings for democratic forces....