Dear friends, partners and supporters of Democracy International,
At Democracy International, we’ve had an exciting 12 months: we hosted a record edition of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, showing that the democracy community is more vibrant and combative than ever. Cities of the world committed to more direct democracy in a historic Magna Charta. We’ve launched numerous exciting new projects this year. And with a revision coming to a close, the European Citizens’ Initiative finally seems to be headed for improvement.
But 2018 has also been a challenging year for citizen participation and democracy in general. With the March 2019 Brexit deadline rapidly approaching, a final deal still has not been decided on. What’s more, it seems that citizens will not get a final say on the decision and the government even tries to circumvent their elected representatives. After a Brexit plebiscite marked by disinformation and obscure intentions, citizens should at the very least be allowed to have a real say on a final deal.
2018 has also been marked by the hollowing out of democratic institutions. Voter suppression was rampant
in the run-up to the US mid-term elections, depriving citizens of their most basic right to participate in political life. In Poland, efforts to politicise the Supreme Court were reversed by an order from the European Union Court of Justice, but only after a three-year game of ‘Chicken’. And the president-elect of Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest democracy, scoffs at indigenous rights and glorifies extra-judicial killings.
Especially worrying to us is the global trend of shrinking civic space, with civil society organisations facing increasing threats to their work everywhere. In Hungary, a draconian tax hike is looming for non-governmental organisations working on migration. Humanitarian workers have been slapped with outrageous lawsuits in Greece and Italy. And Thailand has launched a severe crackdown on peaceful
political dissent ahead of next year’s elections.
Luckily, 2018 also brought along positive news: in comparison to 2017, three times as many national referendums were organised. Ireland showcased a fascinating hybrid form of citizen participation and direct democracy, resulting in the blasphemy and abortion clauses being scrapped from the constitution. The Taiwanese voted on no less than 10 citizens’ initiatives for the first time since hurdles were lowered. Swiss citizens rejected an initiative that would have placed national law above international treaties with a two-thirds majority. Anti-corruption measures received similarly overwhelming support in a Peruvian constitutional referendum. In the USA mid-term elections, with a record turn-out, ballot measures proposing democratic reforms were successful across the board: Colorado, Michigan and Missouri voters emphatically dismissed gerrymandering and 1.4 million citizens previously convicted of a felony saw their voting rights restored in Florida.
These positive examples show that citizens everywhere continue to stand up for their rights. They inspire and encourage us and other activists around the globe to keep fighting for a world in which we are truly free and equal!
Now, before you dig deeper into Democracy International’s 2018, we have one important thing to say:
THANK YOU! We are incredibly grateful to see the support of so many of you and hope that together we can continue to work towards more people power in 2019. Because without you, none of this would be possible.
The Democracy International team
Our gallery: 2018 in Pictures