Worldwide, more people are living in nonfree States than in democracies. However, even in countries where parliamentary democracy is enshrined in the company, failing it.
In London the Parliament was sent home
In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will send the Parliament in a forced break, in Germany, the concern over the rise of the populist AfD, and in Russia, there was recently a week-long mass protests, because many of the opposition candidates were not allowed only in municipal elections.increases
World’s democracies are under increasing pressure. The democracy Index of the British analytical company Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that was released at the beginning of the year. According to the Index, less than five percent of the world’s population live in one of the world’s only, 20 countries assessed in the Index as a “full democracy”.
“If governments do not implement policy, to the voters and the voters lose the trust in democracy, then we have a Problem,” emphasized Fiona Mackie, the economist intelligence unit.
In many countries, more and more traditional political parties are losing the support of the population. Groups in society, such as immigrants or young people have no right to vote and are not represented in the parliaments.
“If we look at those who sit in the parliaments, then, we see a strong imbalance. It is mainly academics or just people who can afford it, to get involved politically,” says Norma Tiedemann, policy research assistant and PhD student at the University of Kassel.
Not a mirror image of the society
This is not a European phenomenon: In all democracies, regardless of whether they are classified as complete or incomplete democracies, parliaments are not a complete mirror image of the society. The had to make some influence on the decisions, the governments and parliaments, Tiedemann:
“Those that are chosen and the population to represent, as a Whole, often decisions that are not in the interest of the General population or the lower-and middle-income layers of the population.”
Declining Voter Participation
Many voters no longer choose to go, if you have the feeling that their voice has no influence. The turnout in the Moscow municipal elections was below 22 percent.
In the recent German state elections in Brandenburg and Saxony, about 60 percent of the voters went after all to the polls. The right-wing populist AfD is the second-strongest group was days in the two country, many election researchers as a sign of protest.
There are also social differences in choice behavior.
“Most of the studies on voter turnout in the last few decades show that people with lower incomes and less formal education are less choose,” says political scientist Tiedemann.
Right to vote for all
But who is allowed to vote? In most countries the voting age for parliamentary elections is 18 or 20 years. In Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Argentina and Cuba, the choice is legal from 16 on, in the Seychelles, East Timor, and the Sudan, from 17. There are special rules: for example, employees are allowed to vote in Serbia and Montenegro from 16 and in Indonesia, the electoral law applies to all who are married.
Many of the participants of the Fridays for Future demonstrations are too young to be allowed to vote (image: Lausanne, 9.8.2019)
In most countries of the world, immigrants are excluded from the national electoral law, if they are not of one’s own citizens. Only in Chile, Uruguay, new Zealand and Malawi, foreigners are allowed to vote with permanent residence in the country, the Parliament.
In Germany, German citizens are allowed to choose from 18 years, in some provinces, the electoral law for local and state elections 16.
EU-citizens from other EU countries may participate in Germany in European and local elections. Non-EU citizens, however, no choice of law – in Germany, this means that around eight million people can’t choose without German citizenship.
Global Women’s Right To Vote
Since Saudi Arabia 2015 introduced as the last country in the world the right to vote for women, went a more than a hundred years of continuous struggle for women’s suffrage to the end. However, in the parliaments representation of women in the world still. A female proportion of 20 per cent counts as a success.
“The bar for the participation of women is very low,” said Fiona Mackie, the economist intelligence unit on the latest findings of the democracy Index. “But the number itself doesn’t tell the whole story. It also needs to be a meaningful participation. So we see, for example, a high proportion of women in Rwanda, but the Parliament there has not very much.”
Collective Self-Determination
In spite of all the existing democratic institutions were an enormous emancipatory success, it is important to defend, so the political scientist Tiedemann. “For in it the promise of equality is Yes, and that is the promise of a collective self-determination, that we organize a quasi -, as a society, rational in our life together and manage in there.”
According to a recent survey, eight out of ten Germans think in a similar way: they see democracy as the best form of government for Germany. However, four out of ten Germans are, according to the same survey, with the implementation of the democracy dissatisfied. Above all, they complain that there is too little co-determination.
However, in the globalized world, important decisions are made in parliaments, but by companies that were focused on privatization, Profit, and competition:
“All of this leads to the fact that there are enormous areas that affect our daily lives, for which we have not even formally, any rights of co-determination,” says Tiedemann. “The democracy that we have, it promises us something that can’t hold it then, because their effect is limited to the area of incredible.”
New Democracy Movements
However, the policy scientist also sees hope. Your theme for the Promotion: “The new Municipal socialism of democratic resistance from the local level against authoritarian rule of law” show that it is named new approaches to the citizens to give participation to strengthen democracy.
“In Spain, in particular, have closed down after the massive protests against the management of the crisis, which had devastating social consequences, people have searched for the old traditions of the local organization and practiced,” she says.
At the local level, new alliances are created, which are anchored in the towns and cities locally and for a democratisation of the democratic institutions from below to advance search. In Croatia, Tiedemann, there is an Initiative to establish a so-called “ethical” credit Institute, in which democratically decide which local projects should be promoted, for example, in the case of start-UPS. Worldwide there are many such examples.
“I think the important point here is that people organize themselves in their everyday life and try to live democracy every day.”
Fiona Mackie, the economist intelligence unit confirms that the political Engagement of citizens is growing worldwide, one of the few positive Trends in this year’s index of Democracy.
“It’s not just about turnout. It is of interest for political news, political commitment, and that people take politics and democracy seriously.”