President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, so often used as a concise description and talisman of democracy in action, was delivered in the midst of a bloody civil war in which family members as well as citizens of states were often pitched against each other and the legacy of which is still felt today. It was couched in apocalyptic phraseology about the very survival of a country that had been “conceived in Liberty” and whether “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”
Only the blinkered will not recognise that democracy around the world is in jeopardy not from external aggression but from disillusion and apathy from the people themselves. Populism and frustration at the slow pace of improvement have bred a desire to see instant action and the belief that there are easy answers to problems in a complex world that demagogues seem to offer (some not even elected but with extensive influencing media control). Within democratic systems there has been a lurch to the right which tends to harbour those who promulgate such solutions. 2024 was a year marked by half the adult population of the planet (60 countries) going to the polls, including democracies the most populous (India) and the most powerful (United States). According to the Pew Research Center “rattled by rising prices, divided over cultural issues and angry at the political status quo, voters in many countries sent a message of frustration.”
In Europe right-wing or far-right nationalist parties are the biggest party in Switzerland (Swiss People's Party) and the ruling party in Italy (Brothers of Italy, Lega), in Hungary (Fidesz), part of the government in Finland (Finns Party), while in Sweden (Swedish Democrats) and in Serbia (United Serbia) they support the government. Also, in North Macedonia, nationalist VMRO-DPMNE is one of the two major parties in the country. We see the advances of AfD in Germany, Rassemblement National of Marine Le Pen and Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) surged to dominance in national elections (it won 29% of the vote in September – a higher share than any other party and its best-ever result). Three far-right parties had a strong showing in Romania’s December parliamentary elections. Although its Constitutional Court annulled the first-round results after evidence emerged of substantial Russian interference in the election. Portugal developed a significant right-wing party and, of course, in the UK Reform won 14% of the vote (although, under the electoral system, only five seats).
In India and Malaysia the elections raised issues of human rights records and in Latin America several governing parties share an opposition to abortion, women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights, an opposition to social democracy and a hard-line view on crime. Africa still retains its reputation in many countries of incumbents clinging to power through constitutional manipulation (eg DRC). Freedom House, which rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories through its annual Freedom in the World report, reported in its latest annual review that “global freedom declined for the 18th consecutive year in 2023. The breadth and depth of the deterioration were extensive. Political rights and civil liberties were diminished in 52 countries, while only 21 countries made improvements. Flawed elections and armed conflict contributed to the decline, endangering freedom and causing severe human suffering.” We should not complain that politicians are elected to pursue their national interests but too often these are promoted to the exclusion of international co-operation and agreement which can also safeguard such interests often in a more effective way, whether in security, trade, energy supplies or issues that transcend national boundaries.
A recent headline in the UK’s Guardian newspaper declared “One in five Britons aged 18-45 prefer unelected leaders to democracy, poll finds.” It continued “One in five generation Z and millennial Britons prefer strong leaders without elections to democracy, and voters overall are feeling downbeat about politics, a report has found.
The polling, part of the FGS Global Radar report, found that overall 14% of people agreed with the statement: “The best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with elections,” rather than the alternative: “The best system for running a country effectively is democracy.” That rose to 21% of people aged between 18 and 45, who answered that the best system was a strong leader without elections. In contrast, only 8% of people over 55 preferred that system to democracy.” The conclusion is that a sizeable minority of under-45s are unconvinced by the need for elections. There is little comfort in the fact that the cohort which believes that voting makes a difference (80%) are aged 75 plus! 47% of those polled (2,000 adults of voting age) felt that none of the current political parties represent their views and values very closely and a majority felt that the UK is in a period of steep decline. 59% felt that “the UK’s best years are behind us” but, of course, that depends on how you calibrate what is best!
There is no reason to suggest that disillusioned voters in other countries had dissimilar views about their own situation.
So how do the technocrats measure up to the politicians? They are almost by definition self-interested committed entrepreneurs who amass vast personal wealth and influence through their products (in the case of the famous four - Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen described by Vanity Fair as creating a world where “nothing is true and all is spectacle”). They are not politicians schooled in the dark art of political negotiations; their sense of philanthropy may be genuine but is often an afterthought rather than a principal initial motivation for entering into public life (eg Bill & Melinda Gates who are shining examples of using wealth for general betterment). They are experts in the use of finance as leverage on individuals and countries and are essentially transactional rather than ethically guided (although that does not apply to all). You will get an outcome based on gut feeling but not necessarily one that takes account of history, culture and the geopolitics of the situation: their solutions may lack durability. Am axiom of politics throughout history is that the tool of money has an enormous impact whether wielded by the democrat or the autocrat.
What are the democrats to do when faced with the autocrats who seem to get things done (although when they go wrong they do so disastrously)? People do not easily forgive inefficiency and limited term parliaments make it difficult for long-term plans to be effected unless they have cross-party support when a changed incoming government can undo the work of its predecessor. As Churchill iterated “Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…” It is easy to give a trite response that the answer lies in better civic education but even in a sophisticated system of high literacy, numeracy, access to varied sources of information and high educative involvement one still finds too many who have no knowledge (or interest?) in the different positions of political parties – often misattributing major differences in fundamental beliefs! Yet the survival of democracy, albeit now in a world bedevilled by fake news, indistinguishable misrepresentation and prejudiced promoters, is in our hands.
Some history of the failure and misery perpetrated by autocracy (there are few truly benevolent dictatorships) as well as the exercise of democracy at all levels of society using electoral systems that are least likely to be manipulated and more designed to build consensus rather than division are all necessary work in progress. It is that consensus rather than opposition for its own sake that may not make for vivid and exciting contrasts but does ensure a degree of agreed continuity enabling long-term plans to come to fruition. Yes, disinterested education about politics and civic life also has a part to play as well as economic policies that do not polarise societies and squeeze out the middle-class that are often the backbone of a democracy with a vested interest in stable politics.
As Joni Mitchell sang in the 1960s “you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.” In the case of democracy as an institution we cannot afford to leave it that late.
Keith Best TD, MA is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Anglesey/Ynys Môn and served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales. Major in airborne and commando (artillery) forces, practising barrister, liveryman (Loriner), and Freeman of the City of London, Keith was named one of the 100 most influential people in public services in the UK by Society Guardian. Keith has made significant contributions to international refugee and human rights initiatives, including serving as Vice Chair of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and as a member of the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Panel on Torture Prevention. He is the Chair & CEO of the Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust, Chair of the Universal Peace Federation (UK), patron of TEAM Global, and a trustee of several national and international organisations.
The views and opinions expressed in our International Insights are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or positions of TEAM Global or its affiliates.
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