Democratic Decline
(Published in the newspaper Amigoe on the 4th of December 2024)
In the previous two articles, we talked about the significance of the Trias Politica for democracy and how it’s built. But here’s the thing: democracy isn’t a given. It can easily slip into an autocracy. This article isn’t about overthrowing a democracy from outside or through a coup. It’s about the slow and sneaky erosion of a democracy from within. It’s a gradual process that happens almost without us noticing. Democratic freedoms are taken away piece by piece, civil society is pressured to stay quiet, and critics are suddenly labeled as enemies of the country. This might seem slow, but it’s just as dangerous. Every democracy needs to be vigilant against this. And guess what? Curaçao isn’t immune to this either!
Democracies under pressure
Democracies are facing some tough times globally. You can feel it! The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which is like The Economist magazine’s research team, releases an annual report called the Democracy Index. It ranks 167 countries based on various factors.
- Electoral process and pluralism
- Functioning of government
- Political participation
- Political culture
- Civil liberties
The results of the Democracy Index 2023 are as follows: Full democracy (24 countries), deficient democracy (50 countries), hybrid democracy (34 countries) and autocratic regime (59 countries).
According to this index, the level of democracy in the world in the period 2006 – 2023 has fallen from 5.52 to 5.23 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as the best score). As for our neighboring countries, Venezuela has a score of 2.31 and Colombia a score of 6.55. The Netherlands stands at 9.00 and the United States at 7.85.
The decay of democracy in practice
How does the erosion of democracy take place? In the 2018 book “How Democracies Die”, the authors describe four indicators of the sliding of democracy towards an autocracy. These indicators are:
- Rejecting democratic rules (such as questioning elections)
- Portraying political opponents as treacherous enemies of the state
- Accepting or encouraging violence
- Limiting democratic freedoms of expression, press or protest.
Once one of these indicators applies to a politician, it's time to ring the bell.
Protest against democratic decline
How to counter democratic decay
A strong and active civil society is crucial for maintaining a healthy democracy. Organizations like NGOs, the media, trade unions, and pressure groups all play a vital role. The Democracy Index reveals that the number of politicians with authoritarian tendencies is rising globally. It’s up to us, the citizens, to stop this! We can do this by voting in elections and actively participating in civil society.
3. Democratic Decline