Global democracies have been backsliding for several years now. Countries once considered to be unshakeable, have unexpectedly for the first time begun raising doubts as to whether they can keep their democracies healthy, or for some, even going.
The EIU's 2021 Democracy Index, which is an annual measure of the state of democracy in 167 countries, showed global democracies experiencing their worst decline in years, with more than half of the world's population living in an authoritarian regime or a country with serious democratic shortcomings. And while 2022 saw some improvements, an expected rebound for democracies failed to materialise.
Add to this an exponential rise in fake news, and both internal and external campaigns of misinformation and electoral meddling, and there’s good reason to future proof democratic societies for both intended and unintended actions that can lead to democratic decay.
For these reasons and more, many are seeking answers and more importantly help from the EU’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) which is a comprehensive framework, that outlines the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values necessary to support and sustain democratic societies.
And since 2018, the RFCDC has been available to ensure that people acquire the necessary knowledge and values to be responsible citizens in a modern, diverse, democratic society and Level Up’s democracy course is committed to this endeavour as well. However, in order to be effective it’s important to also understand what democratic citizens believe. A 2021 survey (by PEW Research a nonpartisan fact tank) found that when citizens from the UK and Australia were asked to define what Democracy meant to them, freedom and human rights came first, elections and procedures second, and having a voice in government third.
More interestingly though, the survey also found that the ability, or for some, the inability to express how they thought about democracy was tied to views about authoritarianism, and those who didn’t offer a definition of democracy were found to be more open to authoritarian rule, a surprising result which reinforces the idea and importance of democratic education as a precursor to a healthy democracy by way of knowledgeable responsible citizens.
As it stands, the commitment remains, to make democracies stronger, fairer, more responsive, and more equitable. However, the recent threats have created urgent needs, which requires enlightened active citizens to overcome and understand. Democracy can only die in darkness.
