On November 25 this year, Calin Georgescu unexpectedly emerged in the presidential elections in Romania. According to polls three weeks earlier, he could count on at most 5 percent of the vote. Three weeks later, Georgescu, who supports Moscow, won the first round with 23 percent. This remarkable result was followed by an equally remarkable intervention by the Constitutional Court in Bucharest: it declared the elections invalid. A far-reaching step that was immediately criticized. Because isn’t the voter always right? Are elections only valid if a well-liked candidate emerges? Who then decides what is acceptable? And wait a minute: are these judges independent?
The Romanian case shows the double crisis that democracy is in: it is not only relatively easy to undermine, but also difficult to defend. The court took strong action, a defensible move: there is much evidence of Russian influence on the electoral process, with the help of paid influencers and clever use of TikTok. Given the obvious, acute danger, the court took action, but this also makes itself vulnerable to criticism of political interference. A shot at an open goal for those who want to sow doubt about democracy.
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In the democratic ‘super year’ of 2024 – 2 billion voters went to the polls – it once again became clear that the threat does not always come from outside. Many autocrats, including those in the making, understand all too well that elections suggest legitimacy. Despite everything, the pro-Russian party Georgian Dream is doing its best to maintain a democratic appearance. In the world’s largest democracy, India, the supremacy of Modi’s BJP party has been curbed, but its autocratic course has not yet been curbed. In Indonesia, outgoing President Joko Widodo secured his family’s power through elections and with the help of chief justices loyal to him.
Meanwhile, the most powerful democracy in the world, the American one, is in mortal danger. Donald Trump, who helped unleash a violent uprising against the Capitol in 2021 after losing elections, wants to take revenge as the new president on everyone who stood in his way. The speed at which large companies but also the media are adapting to the new power relations is disturbing, and seems to be a copy of recent developments in Poland and Hungary. Poland now has a government that is trying to undo the damage to the rule of law, reinstate judges and save the state broadcaster TVP from the clutches of hateful, manipulative propagandists. Here too, the accusation of political interference is easily made. You can destroy a democracy in an instant, but repairing it is a pain in the ass.
As long as the voter can still send the incumbent home, there is a more or less healthy democracy. If that is no longer possible, because there has been extensive tampering with the electoral process, institutions or information provision, it is time to take to the streets. But it is even better to stand up for democracy when it is not yet hanging by a thread. That can be difficult. Democracy is not easy sellrecognizes IDEA, a Sweden-based institute that monitors democracy worldwide. The lure of populism and autocracy, of simplistic solutions and enemy images, is strong.
The good news is that the path of populism and autocracy always ultimately ends, although sometimes it takes a long journey through the desert before this realization sinks in. Where things will go in Syria remains to be seen, but the hunger for freedom and security is enormous, and that gives us hope. There were more bright spots last year: Moldova, which was permanently threatened by Russia, got through the eye of the needle. During troubled elections, Russia was unable to reverse the country’s pro-European course. In South Korea, citizens took to the streets until coup plotter and President Yoon was sent home. And in Romania they did not immediately lie down when Russia’s role came to light.
In the 1990s, after the end of the Soviet Union, democracy seemed undoubtedly the ‘winning model’. It is now clear that this is not self-evident. Protecting democracy and freedom requires constant commitment. From everyone. It is a day’s work, sometimes even an extremely difficult one, as Ukraine has shown for almost three years now. But despite all its shortcomings, this model is still the best guarantee of preventing oppression, censorship and violence, and promoting justice and freedom. Seen in this light, democracy should not be so much defended (don’t be too defensiveIDEA tips) but applauded and celebrated.