Not too many years ago, the world was experiencing a democracy wave of multiple hues: the Orange (Ukraine), Rose (Georgia) and other Revolutions. No more. Though the trend hasn't received much attention, the world is now experiencing a democracy recession. Could U.S. inattention be one cause?

In November, Burma's generals felt confident enough to rig a parliamentary vote, as did Egypt's modern Ramses, Hosni Mubarak. Haiti's presidential elections were a shambles, bringing rioters to the streets last week. The presidential race this month in Belarus is a foregone outcome, and not because the regime is popular.

In Africa, the Ivory Coast sits on the brink of a second civil war after an election that was meant to heal wounds. Opposition leader Alassane Ouattara defeated incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo with 54% of the vote, according to the electoral commission. But Mr. Gbagbo declared himself the victor. The U.N. passed a wrist-slap resolution this week urging him to accept the result. That will not change his mind.

Each of these cases is different, but all reflect the recent trend. Russia, Thailand and Venezuela have seen democratic reverses. Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey made progress, but the momentum is gone elsewhere in the Mideast and Lebanon's government must bend to authoritarians in Syria and Hezbollah. The advocacy group Freedom House notes that for four years in a row more countries have seen declines in political and civic rights than advances.

What are the reasons? Hard economic times can lead to harder politics, and some authoritarians have exploited economic anxiety with populism to extend their political power. High oil prices have propped up Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Russia's Vladimir Putin, among others.

The fading interest and example of America have also played a role. While authoritarians proliferated in the post-World War II era, a wave of democracy began in the 1980s as a resurgent U.S. under Ronald Reagan set an example that many wanted to emulate. The trend continued through the 1990s and early part of the Aughts, and there are still 116 electoral democracies in the world, compared with 76 two decades ago.

For a time President George W. Bush made democracy promotion his signature issue, shaking up parts of the Mideast. But his "freedom agenda" flagged in the second term under the burden of Iraq, the election of Hamas in Palestine, and Mr. Bush's concessions to realpolitik in search of deals with North Korea and Iran.

President Obama rejected democracy promotion entirely in his 2008 campaign, buying into the liberal critique that a morally deficient U.S. (Guantanamo, "torture") had no business pushing values on anyone. When Iran's Green Revolution erupted briefly in summer 2009, Mr. Obama was a passive observer. American pundits have echoed this loss of democratic confidence, wistfully asserting that America should become China, at least for a day, so it could bypass messy Constitutional limits on power and impose their dirigiste dreams.

The takeaway, from Moscow to Beijing to Rangoon, has been that global democracy isn't a U.S. priority. Mr. Obama has finally given some good speeches on the topic this year, but they have had no policy impact.

Consider Egypt. Early in the second Bush term, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Cairo for more political openness. She cancelled a trip there in 2005 to protest the jailing of opposition presidential candidate Ayman Nour, and the Egyptians released him.

The U.S. interest was fleeting. The Bush Administration rejected calls on Capitol Hill to tie America's $2 billion yearly aid to Egypt to an improved political record. Ms. Rice was soon back in Cairo, and Mr. Nour back in prison. The Obama Administration last year cut support for democracy promotion by more than half, after our Cairo embassy advised that such programs annoyed Mr. Mubarak.

So it's hardly a surprise that Egyptians don't take U.S. concerns seriously. The regime waved off U.S. calls for international monitors for last month's parliamentary elections and cracked down on the opposition and media. Egypt has never had a fully proper election, but this one marked a new low. Mr. Mubarak is looking to install his son Gamal on the throne next year. A group of Egyptian human rights organizations called the elections "a moral and political catastrophe," while Washington managed the harrumph of "disappointment" and "dismay."

Preoccupied with domestic matters, the U.S. public has little desire for democratic evangelism. But it remains true that democracies are usually better allies and that authoritarians cause more global mayhem. The global democracy recession is bad for U.S. interests, and President Obama and his Secretary of State should be looking for ways to help reverse it.