In Britain and the US elections signify democracy. They also mask its decline | Rafael Behr

Ballots in the UK are free by global standards, but that system alone is no bulwark against tyranny, as the spectre of Donald Trump proves

This year, countries with a combined population of about 4 billion - half of all the people in the world - will hold elections. That would be cause for celebration if democracy consisted only of the act of voting.

That it doesn't will be proved in March, when Russian citizens will be asked to choose a president, knowing in advance that the winner will be Vladimir Putin. Again.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist