Global Changemakers

Dear all,

Following an intense discussion in the democracy-forum over the last few days I thought it was about time to bring the subject to the front page.

When studying some history books we see that tendencies of democratisation have often been swept away by anti-waves. This process probably started in the early 19th century and hasn’t come to a close yet. Looking at where this democratisation movement has been most stable and successful, most democracy researchers point at north-western European protestant regions with a strong public will for democracy, especially in areas with a decent economic development and a culture of tolerance and participation. This observation brings me to the question: What are the promoters for "good democracy" and how can we as young activist be involved in this process?

Some of the best lines I’ve read in this blog were that someone regarded democracy as a "learning process, as a means, not as an immediate result. The consolidation of democracy is a long process that requires a lot of hard work, commitment and the respect of minorities, freedom of speech, freedom of press, rule of law, etc. It requires the responsibility of the individuals, parties, independent organisations and justice power."

I would like to build up on that by throwing in some more ideas. What most of us would probably nominate as the core principles of democracy are the freedom of speech and political participation. I would like to give you an example of how this is handled in some states here in Switzerland where we can observe one of the oldest and to my understanding purest form of democracy. The eligible citizens of these particular states meet every so often on a central place where they decide on state laws and on expenditures by the council. Everyone is allowed to debate a question and after sometimes quite intense periods of arguing and discussion, people vote by simply raising their hand. (Until 1990[!] when the Federal Court of Switzerland forced the last state to introduce the women’s right to vote, men voted by raising not just their hand, but their sword or bayonet. Yeah, that’s what we call "armed neutrality"!).

Well, this might be interesting but doesn’t answer my question yet. What I wanted to know was if we’re actually able to list boosters of "good democracies". Come to think of it: Is there even such a thing as "good democracy"? Do we actually want to achieve this sort of democratic utopia? I mean wouldn’t the furthering of global democracy actually require some sort of power? And now it’s getting paradoxical: Wouldn’t the universal enforcement of democracy in fact be autocratic?

Setting a list of factors therefore seems harder than initially thought, mainly because too many complex and regional characteristics would have to be taken into account. Even assumedly evident promoters such as economic prosperity for instance seem questionable when looking at the German and Austrian socioeconomic levels of development between World War I and II. Moreover, factors such as a strong middle class or an active civic society seem questionable as well after having been thinking about it for a while

What seems rather evident as democracy booster, however, is something some people like to call "process of embedding", both external and domestic. The European Union for instance is responsible for the stability and quality of a lot of European democracies and still has an enormous impact on democratisation in eastern and south-eastern Europe and beyond.

Now, when looking at internal effects I think that democracy can best be consolidated by fostering mutual interactions between everyone involved so that democracy can grow as a system, not as a regime. And that’s where all of us come into this "process of democratisation".

Probably the most unquestionable promoter of any form of democracy is education. Being able to raise critical questions and suggestions, being involved in constructive discussions and being capable to take these words and turn them into action is – to me anyways – the very core promoter of democracy.

I hope I was able to raise some questions as well and would certainly be interested in your comments. I wish you many constructive and enlightening discussions while being in Guildford and hope that you’ll find the spirit of Greenwich 2007 so you can pass it on to each other, your communities, countries, and possibly the next Greenwich generation!?

Have a wonderful day,

Armin