Imperfect, resilient, and transparent: what our readers think of democracy

SWI swissinfo.ch

Why are you optimistic about the future of democracy? This is the question SWI swissinfo.ch put to readers. The responses are moving, thought-provoking and sometimes both of these things.

To challenge readers, we asked them where they drew their optimism for democracy from – hardly a neutral question. This sort of formulation would also inevitably give commenters a platform to express their displeasure.

User MARCO 46 writes that “noticeable democracy fatigue” is widespread and puts the blame on citizens rather than institutions. Many people, he writes, would rather “travel to exotic countries” rather than assume political office for “little or no pay”. This user believes it is unfortunate that in our comfortable society, “naïve people” found authoritarian regimes “sexier than ‘boring democracies’”.

Optimism for Swiss democracy

Rafiq Tschannen says he still feels optimistic about democracy in Switzerland but worries about democracy in the rest of the world. Instead of advocating for “actual programmes”, Tschannen thinks politicians tactically position themselves depending on what will bring them votes.

Other readers provide more specific reasons for their critical perspective. Giacomo Notrevo, for example, notes that canton Geneva uses “very unclear” wording when formulating questions for local votes, and that as a Swiss expat in Italy, it is “extremely time-consuming” to obtain detailed information. “Is it really surprising that the turnout in such votes is so low?” he asks.

Notrevo experienced a similar dilemma in the 2023 federal elections: he felt there were too many lists of candidates to choose from.

Objectively, there may well be reasons for pessimism in 2024, which is set to be a record-breaking year for the number of voters called to participate in national elections around the world.

Many of these elections are taking place in countries where institutions have recently been weakened. In some cases, the main question is not who will win, but how much of a lead long-reigning rulers will secure over their opponents. In some countries, such as Russia, the result is clear from the outset.

In spite of all this, many readers expressed optimism over the state of democracy where they live.

Appeal from a Ukrainian perspective

Democracy, at least, will not be forgotten in countries where it has never existed or has had to fight against “an ‘anti-democratic wave’ from the beginning”. This is a reason to be optimistic, writes Fyodor Chernikov, for whom democratic ideas still have an appeal.

“The future of democracy is life – this is easier to understand in Ukraine,” he writes. “Of course, we are optimistic. We want to create a society that strives for democracy.”

In Ukraine, he adds, “most people” would understand the concept of democracy. “And they understand the difference between a real democracy and a fake one,” Chernikov states in another comment. In his country, war is threatening rights “which we have recently discovered”. However, he believes that “even a fake democracy will lead to implementing [democratic rights] in one way or another”. The user is convinced that even if democracy is just an empty claim in a society, it will prevail in the long run. In such sham democracies, this would probably require “intellectual labour for several generations”.

Chinese insights into democracy

User Gagatang1 wants to make a few things clear: “Human society is imperfect because humans themselves are imperfect.” For this reason, the user writes, it is impossible for society to create a paradise. “The idea of building a paradise on earth is either utopic or a Marxist trap.” Gagatang1 believes that one must have experienced the terrors of a dictatorship to understand this.

With this experience, a person can draw certain conclusions: “As a political system, democracy is not perfect,” writes Gagatang1, although it has shown that it is superior to other political systems and is constantly evolving. “Democratic decisions can also be wrong”, the user adds, but the system of democracy makes it possible to correct them.

The views of user Peter are rather similar: “My optimism is based on the fact that democracies are brave and transparent enough to recognise their mistakes and weaknesses and take responsibility for them. What is especially inspiring for many is that democracies are “resilient in the face of their weaknesses.”

Many other contributions in this debate did not find their way into this piece but give just as much food for thought about democracy. The debate continues.

Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Adapted from German by Billi Bierling/Geraldine Wong Sak Hoi