Why We Should Remain Optimistic About Democracy S Future

After Tuesday’s electoral victories across the country. from local elections here in Oberlin to state-wide elections in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and more, there seems to be a poignant sense of hope in the air. In spite of all the hardships and blatantly undemocratic efforts promulgating at the federal level, I advocate for being optimistic about our bulwark democratic institutions, the leaders fighting every day to defend democracy, and... It is important for us to remain realistic about our present political situation, but being realistic does not automatically mean you have to be pessimistic about where democracy is headed. To be clear, I am not advocating for blissful ignorance, as this can be incredibly destructive and accelerate democratic backsliding, but continued pessimism can yield similar destructive outcomes. Rather, we must understand the threats we presently face and ground ourselves in our history of democratic perseverance through the most turbulent times this world has faced.

It’s been one year since the polls closed in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump was declared the winner in the early hours of Nov. 6. It’s been one year since many people started to feel like democracy tipped irrevocably into a downward spiral, part of a rising tide of right-wing populism gripping other parts of the globe while others... It’s been one year since I felt that cascade of shock and confusion and grief that so many across the world felt too as the U.S. suddenly joined this wave in force.

It’s been one year of feeling deeper concern about our democratic institutions every passing day. And now, over a month into the longest government shutdown in history, resulting from partisan gridlock over extending healthcare funding, and over nine months into the administration’s incessant attacks on democratic institutions, trade policies,... In fact, on Oct. 31, The New York Times editorial board published a piece showcasing America’s slippage towards autocracy in all categories scholars deem as telltale signs of authoritarianism. An Oct. 23 Wall Street Journal column also echoes some of these concerns, giving rise to the idea that critics across the aisle are becoming increasingly concerned about this administration’s choices.

Through it all, however, I have steadily learned to remain optimistic about democracy’s future at large, and I believe others can and should adopt democratic optimism. A significant reinforcement of this perspective was fostered by the Athens Democracy Forum, an annual conference hosted jointly by the Democracy & Culture Foundation and The New York Times. I had the privilege of attending this year’s forum, held at the very beginning of October in Athens, Greece, to both represent Oberlin and work with peers from across the globe to learn more... Importantly, I heard firsthand from leading scholars and practitioners in democracy. Professors and scholars at leading universities such as the University of Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania presented qualitative and quantitative research into varying facets of democratic concerns, ranging from youth participation, attacks on... Politicians and practitioners — such as the former president of Slovenia, vice president of European Parliament, and former deputy prime minister of Canada spoke candidly about their professional viewpoint on democratic institutions.

Civil society leaders from think tanks and nonprofits — such as the Pew Research Center, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation — shared their widespread research and advocacy efforts aimed at informing the public on issues concerning democracy. Renée Rippberger, Rachel Beatty Riedl, Jonathan Katz, Paul Friesen, Noam Lupu, Marie Miller, Caroline Macneill, Randi Wright, Alexandra Rumford Jonathan Katz, Renée Rippberger, Eric Urby Ithiel Batumike, Fred Bauma, Jason Stearns Caren Grown, Jerome De Henau, Laura Martinez, Ipek Ilkkaracan

Sept. 15 is the United Nations’ International Day of Democracy, an annual moment to assess the health of democracy around the world. Unfortunately, as numerous studies have demonstrated, democracy has been in decline in many nations in recent years. Americans are unhappier and more divided than most about the state of their democracy, and particularly gloomy about its prospects for improvement. The United States is no exception. In fact, Americans are unhappier and more divided than most about the state of their democracy, and particularly gloomy about its prospects for improvement.

Americans certainly haven’t given up on democracy, but if the U.S. is going to turn around these negative trends, we may need a renewed democratic imagination and a new, broad-based conception of American identity to see past what feel like insurmountable obstacles. The country’s notably grim political mood and desire for change show up across many survey questions. Cross-national surveys at Pew Research Center show Americans are among the most dissatisfied with the functioning of their democracy, and they are particularly negative on whether politicians care what voters think. In a 2021 Center survey of adults in 17 advanced economies, 85% in the U.S. said their political system needs major changes or needs to be completely reformed.

Italy and Spain were the only countries we surveyed where larger shares of the public expressed this view. Despite the desire for change, most Americans who said the U.S. political system needs to be fixed also said they are not confident it could be changed effectively. A report from the Democracy Policy Lab at UC Berkeley finds Americans are confused about the meaning and practices of democracy and deeply distrustful of public institutions — and each other. Strong “democracy policy” could help renew national bonds, the authors say. For a decade, scholars, pundits and other analysts have been searching deep in the American political experience to understand why democracy seems so stressed.

Now a new UC Berkeley report based on extensive surveys finds that Americans are confused about the meaning of democracy and frustrated with the leaders and institutions responsible for guiding the country — but... In an interview, lead author David C. Wilson detailed the findings of this plunge into our political psyche, surveying a tangle of concerning trends. Americans are struggling with epidemic mistrust, but they’re also eager for solutions. For democracy to flourish, the report finds, its people must be flourishing, too. Wilson, a political psychologist, offered a potentially innovative course of therapy: Just as the nation has economic and health policy, local, state and federal leaders need a commitment to democracy policy to strengthen the...

Wilson is the dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at Berkeley and a professor of public policy and political science. The report, “Delivering on the Promises of ‘We the People,’” is based on surveys of more than 2,400 Americans conducted before and after the November 2024 election. Is America’s democracy under threat in the presidential election of 2024? Despite reports to the contrary, democracy’s machinery is running smoothly. The January 6,2021, attack of the U.S. Capitol was a stain on this country and Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election to Joe Biden was a disgrace.

But the media and academia tend to overreact to all things Trump. Contrary to what many folks may have read, American democracy is doing fine. First, voter turnout is up, not down. In the 2020 election about twenty million more people voted than in the 2016 election. That’s a big difference. Increased voter turnout is not only true for the overall population of eligible voters, but it is also true for Black voters, and it is a long-term trend.

In 2000, turnout for Black voters was 53.5%. Twenty years later, it was 58.7%. (Any reader who would like the sources for any of the statistics cited in this piece is welcome to email me at egerstma@lmu.edu). Turnout among voters with disabilities is up as well. According to a report by researchers at Rutgers University and San Diego State University, a 2002 law designed to help people with disabilities vote has been remarkably successful. As the reported in the New York Times: “The report … looked at elections through the 20th anniversary of the Help America Vote Act in 2022 and found that the law had generally improved...

The shift was reflected both quantitatively (in turnout and the percentage of people reporting trouble voting) and qualitatively (in voters’ responses in focus groups).” A new study from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Public Agenda finds that Americans are deeply concerned about the state of U.S. democracy and that growing divisions within the Republican Party deepen partisan divides over how the Constitution should guide presidential authority and the balance of power. The report draws from a national survey of 4,500 Americans, earlier polling, and three focus groups with Republican participants. It builds on prior SNF Agora research documenting Republican disagreement about the legitimacy of the 2020 election. It shows that these differences now extend to views of presidential power, constitutional limits, elections, and trust in government.

The research identifies three distinct groups within the Republican Party: "Americans share deep concern for our democracy, but we do not all have the same reasons," said Andrew Seligsohn, president of Public Agenda. "Republicans in particular are divided between those who support unfettered presidential power and those who believe checks and balances are essential to the integrity of our constitutional order. These differences represent a deep cleavage in the Republican Party with consequences for the future of American democracy." Across parties, most Americans express concern about U.S. democracy:

Archon Fung is the Director of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. He serves as the co-chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative Deep Dive on Democracy, which took place on September 15, 2023. Fung's research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance, with a particular focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He co-directs the Transparency Policy Project and leads democratic governance programs of the Ash Center. His books include Full Disclosure: The Perils and Promise of Transparency (Cambridge University Press, with Mary Graham and David Weil) and Empowered Participation: Reinventing Urban Democracy (Princeton University Press). He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals.

He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT. As we enter the 2024 election season, there is growing focus on the state of democracy in the United States and the potential threats it faces going forward. In an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll at the end of 2022, more than eight in ten Americans indicated that they believe there is a serious threat to democracy in the U.S. Political polarization remains a potent force, acting as an obstacle to solving society’s most critical problems. Disinformation continues to drive sharp partisan division and, increasingly, the potential for violence.

A significant portion of Americans believe the 2020 election was stolen, undermining faith in the electoral process. Voter suppression efforts continue across the country, which, in combination with increasing gerrymandering and minority rule, reduce the potential for voters to make their voices heard on policy preferences and the direction America should... Democracy outside the U.S. seems imperiled as well. The title of Freedom House’s 2022 report on the state of democracy around the world is “The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule”, and their summary overview states, “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy…are accelerating their attacks.”

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