DEMOCRACY FIGHTS BACK
Dear friends, partners and supporters of Democracy International,
2017 was the year of the aftermath. After last year’s surprise Brexit decision, United Kingdom citizens had to define what this actually meant, with the biggest proponents of Brexit disappearing into thin air. A disastrous snap election, meant to strengthen Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiating mandate, confused matters further. Meanwhile Article 50’s clock is ticking mercilessly, leaving UK citizens and EU citizens living in the UK in utter darkness as to what awaits
January saw the inauguration of a ground-breaking president in the USA. Yes, ground-breaking - just not in the ways that he himself likes to think. The highest office in the United States is now held by a man who scoffs at the rule of law, who refuses to grasp the concept of separation of powers and who has allowed religion to mix itself in with politics once again.
Corruption scandals have laid bare the extremely cynical, serve-serving idea some leaders have of public service in Romania, Azerbaijan, Ecuador and too many more places. Winning an election does not equal winning the lottery!
We saw narrow electoral defeats of extreme right-wing parties in the Netherlands, France and Austria, but we saw their ideas gaining ground around the world, including in Germany, where the AfD party gained access to the Bundestag. Increasingly, basic civil and human rights have been put into question by authoritarian leaders in a new guise. And brazenly enough, they often turn to so-called direct democracy. Unfortunately, manipulation and political instrumentalisation have riddled referendums from Turkey to Spain.
But if 2016 was the year of deep and acute crisis of democracy, 2017 has been the year of democracy fighting back. All around the globe, citizens stood up, got organised and demanded that their voices be heard. From the worldwide Women’s Marches, to Romania’s anti-corruption protests, from the Stop Glyphosate campaign, to the Olympic bids referendums. Above all, 2017 was the year of the resistance, the year of the citizen!
This year we were reminded that democracy is not merely the least of evils, but our highest good. Our fight, and yours, is now more important than ever. We cannot let disinformation go unchallenged. We cannot let our institutions be eroded by populists. We cannot allow taxpayers’ money to benefit personal gain. We cannot content ourselves cheering when extremists win second place.
At Democracy International, we saw some long-awaited victories this year, and this makes us hopeful for the future: a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) reform was announced, and several of our suggestions were retained, the European Court of Justice ruled that the TTIP ECI was legitimate, and European leaders, shaken by the Brexit decision, have publicly called for democratic debates on the future of Europe. We also have some good things to look forward to with the prospect of the 2018 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy in Rome and the development of a Global Hub for democracy activists.
With your continued support, we will keep fighting for our right to shape the societies we live in! Let it be clear for once and for all that in times of crisis, taking power away from citizens is not the solution, but part of the problem!
On the following pages, please find an overview of what we have worked on this year.
All the best,
The Democracy International team