The State of Global Democracy

Global democracy is facing a ‘reverse wave’ of autocratization. This decline is transcending the North-South divide, affecting established democracies like the USA and several European nations.

The authors of the three themed articles in this DevISSues take a closer look at this reverse wave and consider how it can be resisted. They all participated in the recent IDS-ISS seminar ‘Reclaiming Democracy: Lessons from around the globe’ and their contributions to this issue are based on their observations from the seminar.

ISS professors Wil Hout and Dirk-Jan Koch argue that reversing the trend towards autocratization requires moving beyond technocratic aid to embed democracy at the heart of foreign policy and flexible funding for grassroots movements.

IDS researcher Niranjan Nampoothiri focuses on the link between democracy and human development. Noting that democracy outperforms autocracies on most development goals, he argues that developmental thinking can offer critical lessons to build democratic resilience.

In the third article, researchers Thijmen Rooseboom and Yuhniwo Ngenge emphasize that, like autocratization itself, resistance to it is also growing. While autocrats use ‘insidious’ legal loopholes and digital disinformation, resistance movements are increasingly leveraging technology to share tactics across borders.

The other contributions to this issue, though not directly on the theme of global democracy, do touch upon related ideas. The Focus article, for example, describes the  ‘Environmental monitoRIng through Civic engagement’ research project which harnesses the power of citizen science for environmental monitoring of the fossil fuel industry. The project highlights the need to democratize environmental knowledge by empowering citizens, improving public understanding of climate change and nurturing climate actions and environmental protection engagement.

Likewise, the staff-student discussion highlights the power of solidarity and positivity to tackle crises. Talking specifically about the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel, Jeff Handmaker, Osama Al Shamleh and Emmylou Savage emphasize the need for unity and the importance of solidarity to achieve results.

So from various angles, this DevISSues describes the steps and actions that individuals and organizations can take to design a more just and equitable world. As ISS rector Ruard Ganzevoort writes, despite the current geopolitically unstable and uncertain time, ‘..it is all about small, feasible, realistic steps that design a better world.’

Jane Pocock

Editor DevISSues