In 2024, more than half of humanity will go to the polls, making this the biggest election year in history. Elections are taking place in Bangladesh, Taiwan, India, South Africa, Mexico, the EU, France, the UK, the US, and more. At the same time, democracy around the world is facing a variety of serious challenges and threats. Among the most prominent ones are populism and polarization, of which the case of the US perhaps presents an especially stark example, although certainly not an exception. While the center has just about held in the recent EU parliament elections, the shift to the populist right is evident, and the (at the moment of writing) upcoming French elections provide more than enough reason for one to hold their breath (as do the German general elections in 2025). Some democracies are also in grave danger of totalitarianism and even direct military intervention. Constant threats issued to Taiwan by China and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is now entering its third year, are a case in point.
Internal threats to democracy are just as apparent as external ones. According to the EIU’s 2023 Democracy Index, democratic backsliding is continuing, with almost 40% of the world’s population living under authoritarian rule, and only 43 of over 70 elections expected to be free and fair. Another discouraging trend is the faltering belief in the value and efficiency of democracy, including by the very citizens of democratic countries. Especially alarming, perhaps, is the skepticism towards democracy that comes from younger generations. In a recent, major international survey, just 57% of respondents between ages 18 and 35 said they prefer democracy to any other form of government (compared to 71% of older respondents), while 40% said they support military rule (compared to 20% of older respondents).
These uneasy circumstances make thinking and talking about democracy especially timely and urgent. The aim of this series is to shine a light on this important and complex subject. To this purpose, we will publish a variety of perspectives on democracy, including historical, theoretical, and practical ones, with an eye firmly on the future, with proposals for and critical discussions of possible future democratic solutions.
In order to understand what democracy is and could be, it helps to turn to how democracy was: how it came to be and which forms it took throughout centuries. From a historical perspective, the relevant topics range from the origins of democracy in the ancient world to social contract theories and thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and Hannah Arendt. It means paying attention to different systems and institutions which can be considered democratic and which have been historically considered as such, and drawing lessons for our present day systems and institutions.
In addition to surveying its history, it is essential to closely examine the concept(s) of democracy and engage with the theory. In the government of the people, for the people, by the people, who in fact counts as “the people”? Who gets included, and who excluded from democratic processes? What is the appropriate form and scope of democratic government? How do we conceptualize and compare various forms of democracy, such as liberal, social, representative, direct? Legitimacy, sovereignty, representation, partisanship, opposition, and civic friendship are just some of the numerous problems in theory of democracy.
Theory in this area is fairly tightly bound to the practice. Once we gain a clearer picture of what desirable democratic models might look like, how do we go on approaching such models in practice? How do we go about realizing just representation? How do we ensure that the opposition remains, if not constructive, then non-violent? Assuming we should, how do we get people to vote and have their voices heard?
Finally, there are questions directly tied to the current crisis and future of democracy. How can we not only defend and preserve democracy in this hostile environment, but also build upon, develop and improve democratic institutions and practices so that they can successfully face off current and future challenges and respond to societal and individual needs? By pondering over the ways in which democracy can be made sustainable and future-proof, philosophy and theory of democracy can make an important contribution to our societies.
The diversity of topics is reflected in the diversity of the contributors to the series, who are specialized in different (sub)fields and relate to the subject in their own unique manner, some also by actively engaging in democratic practice and policy making. This rich variety of approaches and experience helps us to avoid blind spots and partiality when it comes both to which topics are selected and the way in which they are covered.
Democracy and self-government have been remarkably rare throughout history. They remain unattainable for most people living today. And yet, democratic forms of government are nowadays often taken for granted, primarily by people lucky enough to be living in more-or-less functioning democratically ruled systems. This is a reckless tendency. Democratic rule is not a given, it is not an eternal fact of life. Preserving democracy requires reflection, participation, and debate, and this series aims to be a part of that broader endeavor. The hope is that thereby we will contribute to democratic thinking and practice in this crucial moment.
Martina Valković
Martina Valković (Series Editor, Perspectives on Democracy) is a Research Assistant at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, where she is currently completing her PhD, and a visiting researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Her PhD research centres around the ontological and methodological assumptions of certain cultural evolutionary theories and their problematic social and political implications. She has previously also researched norms and conventions.
