The ancient idea of democracy is under threat around the world. Today, there are only 63 democracies compared to 74 autocracies, and many of these democracies are highly problematic.
Russia has just had another fake election on behalf of Vladimir Putin, China doesn’t have open elections at all, and India’s democracy is looking increasingly strained. Elsewhere, things have got worse since the COVID pandemic, which simultaneously demonstrated the need for some kind of central authority to help people at times of national crisis, while also demonstrating the vulnerability of democratic governments.
In the USA, there’s the real prospect of an authoritarian-leaning charlatan returning to the White House, and populists with little regard for democratic principles are on the rise across Europe and Africa.
The conundrum is that while things are clearly better for citizens – in ways that can be measured – in more democratic societies, such as across Scandinavia, strongmen with fascist tendencies (and scapegoats to blame), look increasingly attractive when things go bad. War, climate catastrophe and other intractable problems are a boon to these political actors. Once anti-democratic forces are entrenched, it becomes increasingly difficult to remove them.
In Germany, where people have a particular interest in this problem, something called the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index has been published for the last twenty years, analysing the health of global democracy in great detail. The Index points to signs of optimism in places like Brazil and Poland, where authoritarians have been pushed on to the back foot recently, but numerous other countries, such as Bangladesh, Mozambique and Türkiye, are heading in the opposite direction, along with Germany itself.
When social cohesion collapses, and compromise becomes impossible, democracy cannot flourish. The Index authors point out that democracy is not a self-sustaining idea – it has to be protected and nourished. Public participation, trust, rule of law, and a well-informed populace are all vital (journalists must be able to do their work).
Democracy’s health also depends on big money not being allowed to corrupt the system. The example of the United States shows how easily democracy can become oligarchy.
Money, misinformation, fear, stupidity and ignorance threaten democracy’s existence, which is why these things need to be carefully watched, and called out.
Aussie democracy
In Australia we’re lucky enough to live in one of the most long-running and stable liberal democracies, along with Switzerland, but that doesn’t mean we can be complacent.
Secret, compulsory voting for all adults is the bedrock of our system, administered by an independent electoral commission, but democracy is facing challenges here from multiple directions, including unscrupulous politicians and a rapidly changing media landscape.
Peter Dutton’s shameful attack on the electoral commission last year, and use of misinformation on a range of issues, is beginning to look less like a blip than deliberate strategy as far as the Liberal Party is concerned.
Down in Tasmania on the weekend, Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff stood up in front of the cameras and declared he’d won the election, when in fact he had failed to gain a majority of seats and suffered a 12 per cent swing against him. The party with the biggest positive swing was actually the Greens. It’s yet to be seen what type of minority government will be running the state.
Tasmania’s Hare-Clark electoral system means that unlike most places in Australia (at least in lower houses), the politicians who end up sitting in the state parliament correspond fairly accurately to the choices of the electors, rather than having their votes diverted in various undemocratic ways.
Hooray for democracy!
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
Lately it seems most people are awful or stupid or both. The value of democracy is being undermined. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea in the first place.
Jeremy Rockliff …WINS…the election, so says the Jeremy himself.
The punters didn’t vote for a change of government, so says the Jeremy himself.
I guess the first goal is to convince yourself before trying it on everyone else.
If that is WINNING, according to Jezza, best not even think about what losing might look like.
Hooray for Democracy is right! We need to stand firm on our values and keep the ship steady through this next stormy chapter.
What are those Universal Values exactly? Show me a value, and I’ll show you a protest group that opposes it
Australia is an autocracy, Two party no choice system that are working together to destroy Australian sovereign rights. Think forced medical intervention(COVID – IHR).
Think information, disinformation bill.
Think protesting is now illegal unless you ask for ‘permission’.
Think digital id bill.
Think cashless society that our traitorous govt is pushing for.
The govt have got it the wrong way round.
They are our servants, not our overlords.
Australia is turning into a totalitarian nightmare before our eyes and no on is interested.
The majority have the heads buried in their phones
And are only interested in material garbage, celebrities and social influencers.
The powers no this, and give us these garbage distractions while stealing away your rights through legislation.
While people are blindsided with a continuous stream of endless garbage, they won’t think about the real questions.
Why are we here?
Is there a higher divine power?
What is the point of life and the realm we live in?
You’re absolutely right Wr; I demand the right to live in a world where plagues run rampant and to be fed lies from every channel.
We get deadly pandemics all the time, such as flu, but they don’t make a big deal about it, so for most people it ‘doesn’t happen’. Do you remember the 2017 flu pandemic? Deadliest one yet. I want to hear everyone’s lies! That’s how you tell whose who
Look, I want them all to run rampant. Just so long as the gov’ ment doesn’t try interfering!
“Democracy is a team sport”! If you don’t get out and support your team, if you take no interest in politics, you’re doomed to be overwhelmed and defeated by the opposing party every time and that is exactly whats been happening. Look around, what do you see? We see people taking no interest in politics, while billionaires so easily manipulate those opposing party’s against our best interests. Aided by an ever increasing corrupted media, that is now almost beyond belief, in what they are getting away with. It’s basically “Hate Media” telling anyone gullible enough to listen, what to think, what to obstruct, “Just say No” and whom to hate 24/7.
While we look at the progressive party’s, Labor and the Greens whom really haven’t change all that much over the decades, they really want to help and make a difference for the environment and people.
We really do need to look and talk about, just what the LNP and other party’s owned and operated by billionaires for their own interests, really are. Basically a party now dominated by religious fundamentalist factions, now controlling all party administration and preselections, almost all the “Moderates” completely removed from the party only the weak yes men remain, “No women really permitted” its just tokenism like their churches demand”. So many people have deserted the LNP branches, only these fundamentalist remain.
Any LNP candidate anywhere is probably a branch stacked fundamentalist, yes even in yours and my electorate. This has directly caused the rise of the Teals, brilliant moderate females excluded from preselection by the fundamentalist. The Teals have taken blue ribbon Liberal seats from the fundamentalists controlled Liberal party. If you look around the world this is basically the problem, you have to get involved in your party politics or you will be overwhelmed by corporations and those whom weaponise religion in politics! Take a look at whom is pushing this religious freedom nonsense? We have seen this before countless times throughout history. “When fascism comes to your country it will have a flag in one hand and a bible in the other”. Sinclair Lewis.
Here’s a novel idea. Let’s ask our media for just one day a year, “Just one day”, that we can have real factual news, no opinion or the usual, contrived lies disinformation and misinformation. And instead of the relentless predictable repetitive attacks on Labor. They turn the screws on the absolute barren policy free wasteland that is the Dutton LNP leftovers. The media could demand Dutton and his token ministers of obstruction, explain what their alternative to his constant empty policy vacuum obstruction his meaningless, just say No to everything and anything? Look you can do it on the 1st of April, we don’t care, “Just bloody do it” just one day hold the LNP to account, open up Australia’s eyes to the Dutton LNP/Media charade! “Sky after dark and Murdoch media can just close down for the day if they refuse to co-operate?
200 years ago representative democracy was the only effective method to congeal public opinion. It is way past its use by. Now it is a monstrous machine controlled by corporate interest (largely war and weapons based) who keep control through media manipulation and a feigned democracy. How can sensible decisions be made by a population who are brain dead from playing with their toys and listening to endless diatribe.
What do you suggest Math? A benevolent dictatorship? Anarchy? Would either of those tame the monster?
The governments and International institutions are also integrated into that control structure. You can’t have a democracy or republic without nationalism
How sad Tweed, you would not recognise the truth if it hit you between the eyes… .. .
There’s a song called, “Greg the Stop Sign”, check it out, it may have been written about you?
And a cracking great song it is but it would float over the top of Greggy’s mind.
Getting rid of the Murdochs would improve our polity immeasurably …