Two-thirds of the way through the global super-election year 2024, we’ve seen a massive political shift to the right and populism unfolding. The outlook for the rest of the year is mixed at best. Around the globe, democracy is under threat. But there is hope and new approaches already exist to rethink, reboot and restart democracy.

At first sight, the picture looks bleak. After the French snap election, the country still hasn’t formed a new government, setting a new record for the transition period. In two eastern German federal states, the most recent state elections were heavily in favour of the extreme right and a new populist party with left-wing roots. Migration continues to be a hot topic, not least after the recent attack in Solingen.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, which has always been an exception, the government has changed from the right-wing Tories to the left-wing Labour. In the US, the pendulum has swung back towards the Democrats, with the showdown between Trump and Harris just ten weeks away. It’s unhealthy for a democracy if an important candidate is perceived as a threat.

Where democracy is in danger, we need a restart.

A reboot on different levels

The reboot of democracy can take place at various levels. Perhaps the most important is the level of the citizen, the sovereign. Jon Alexander, who will speak at NEXT24, thinks that the consumer paradigm of the 20th century is now fading away, making room for the citizen. It’s a more active, involved, creative role than the passive consumer.

In the same spirit, but with a more practical approach, holi aims to foster social engagement. Its goal is to create the world’s first digital ecosystem for non-profit initiatives, networks, associations, organisations, and volunteers. holi is intended to bundle offers for the common good and support voluntary organisations in building up, networking and visibility. Piet Mahler co-founded holi together with Benjamin Otto.

At the representative level, there are initiatives such as Brand New Bundestag, whose idea and name go back to Brand New Congress in the USA, which was dissolved in 2023. Their focus is on supporting individuals on their way into parliament, across party lines. Although the initiative is located more in the progressive spectrum, it has already successfully supported CDU candidates as well. Co-founder and social entrepreneur Max Oehl is responsible for the political strategy.

From a democratic perspective, they strengthen the representative function by empowering underrepresented population groups and topics in parliaments. They also enhance the connection between grassroots organisations and the political arena. Both are important, since people are turning to populist parties because they don’t see themselves and their legitimate interests represented by the established parties.

A growing disconnect

New populist parties are an expression of a growing disconnect between established parties and their former voters. We can read this as an integration problem between society and the political system. The reboot of democracy can be tackled both by voters, now citizens, and by grassroots organisations, elected representatives and parties. However, this reconnection is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

The people’s parties of the old guard were characterised not least by their widespread presence at the local level. This gave them a keen sense of the concerns of their voters. In contrast, the smaller parties are more urban and more closely tied to their respective milieus. Where populist parties now manage to have a similarly strong presence at a local level, they are gaining ground.

To govern successfully, governments require the broadest possible consensus among the population:

Democracy means governments need two majorities: a parliamentary and a social majority. If and when they lose one of those, it’s game over, sooner or later. In most democratic countries, governing without a parliamentary majority is hard or impossible. Some countries are more accustomed to minority governments than others. Coalitions are a common way of forming parliamentary majorities.

Without a social majority, i.e. a majority of voters supporting a government’s policies, sooner or later the parliamentary majority will be gone as well. That’s the magic of elections. That is what governments must fear: being voted out of office. Rightly so, from a democratic point of view. 

The unwillingness to learn

What drives people into the arms of populists is the unwillingness of large sections of the political establishment to learn anything from critical events. The actions and omissions of politicians are incomprehensible to these potential recruits to the populist cause. They react sensitively to whitewashing, and protest is more important to them than the questionable personnel of the populists. They are citizens, even if they may not vote for mainstream parties.

Now, the shift to the citizen changes the game in the direction of agency. This is where grassroots initiatives like holi come into play. They enable citizens to play a more active role. Even minuscule activities like yana contribute to this. yana is the world’s first AI chatbot that supports people with everything they need if they have been discriminated against.

Or take Baba Future, which sees itself as a powerhouse for the health of black, indigenous, and other people of colour. It’s about access to their own health and the self-help of communities. They use empowerment workshops and digital campaigns as their tools. Digital strategist Nasanin Montazeri has founded Baba Future and is involved with yana as well.

These concepts are not fundamentally new. We can trace the idea of the citizen back to the ancient Greek city-states. However, throughout history, it has always been limited and at the same time driven by the respective spatial, economic and social conditions. The digital era has changed the equation, hopefully for the better. If the reboot succeeds, it can help politics:

For a while, Germany could solve all kinds of problems by simply throwing money at it. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, money was cheap. This approach concealed the systemic issues, but calmed the pressure on the streets and social media to an acceptable level. In times of higher interest rates, it doesn’t work.

Now, politics needs to come up with smarter solutions, thinking things through to the end. This ability seems to be in short supply, and that’s the real danger to freedom and democracy.

Picture by Markus Spiske / Unsplash.