Democracy: Challenges and Opportunities

2.     400 Billion people to vote

3.     The year 2024 is assumed as the year of peak of third wave democracy. (Samuel Huntigton)

2.     Western Democracies like USA and UK

3.     Theocratic nations like – Iran

4.     Military regimes like Pakistan

2.     Justice, Liberty, Equality and fraternity

3.     Welfare

4.     Human Rights including minority rights

5.     Separation of powers

6.     Checks and balances

7.     SMART government

8.     Decentralisation

9.     Networked governance

10.  Liberalism

11.  Ethnic diversity

12.  Constitutional government

13.  Debates and consensus

14.  Presence of more than one political party

(The American think-tank that studies the state of democracies)

Governments around the world were seen as –

1.     Authoritarian governments

2.     Less respect for individual liberty

3.     Disrespect for media freedoms

4.     More unfriendly to autonomous institutions i.e. civil society

5.     Coups against elected leaders in Africa

6.     Assaults on journalists in a number of countries (including India).

7.     Less restrained by checks and balances on their power.

8.     Assaults on people (Killing Maasha Amini in Iran)

9.     Regional wars è dictatorship

10.  Breach of Human rights

Ex. Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang state in China

11.  Demand for monarchy in Nepal

è According to The Economist’s Democracy Index and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

This is the  –

a.      Democratic contraction

b.     Democratic recession

2.     Gaining grounds of illiberal values.

3.     Undermining the importance of Free speech

4.     Decreasing freedom of press and attacks on journalists

5.     Reduced judicial autonomy with post- retirement benefits

6.     Misusing the state institutions like –

a.      CBI

b.     CVC

c.      ED

d.     Police

7.     Spoils management of the bureaucracy

8.     Suppression of the civil society

9.     Anti – Social Media and media policies

Ex: IT rides on BBC ; arrest of News click editor

10.  Ethnic violence

11.  Iron hand Suppression of protests

Ex: Anti – CAA protests and farmers protests

12.  Frivolous cases under sedition law

Ex: 165% jump in sedition cases between 2016 to 2019 (NCRB data)

13.  Election Related issues:

a.      Campaign funding – No transparency and accountability

è 2024 Election expenditure: 1.35 lakh crore (Centre for Media studies)

b.     Ballot box democracy – first past the post – under represented majority

c.      Bribing the voters

d.     Limited participation of voters in the election

Ex: only 67% voter turnout in 18^th Lok Sabha

e.      AI – Deep fakes

Ex: Cambridge Analytica

f.      Communal politics

g.     Caste politics

h.     Regional politics

2.     Independent election machinery

3.     Active Civil Society

4.     Government’s acceptance to criticism

Ex: Dhruv Rathee

5.     Constitutionally guaranteed rights

6.     Prosperous economy

7.     Nationalist sentiment

8.     Spirit of tolerance

9.     Widespread education

10.  Economic security

2.     Democracy is a culture

3.     It is a way of life – family, school, workplace etc.

4.     Recognising diversity in unity.