Prague, Oct 9 (CTK) – Democracy is facing serious challenges threatening its existence everywhere in the world, participants in the 21st Forum 2000 conference with the motto Strengthening Democracy in Uncertain Times said in Prague on Monday.
Corruption, organised crime, rising populism and transformation of the discussion environment due to social networks are the problems of democracy, they said.
Former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez warned that functioning democratic political systems had only been maintained in Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand.
This is roughly 27 percent of the whole world, Gonzalez said.
In the countries in which democracy has been preserved it is necessary to conduct a discussion of the problems it is facing and their solutions, he added.
The belief in democratic principles is influenced by a number of external factors such as globalisation of the economic system, Gonzalez said.
Democratic political systems have the internal problem of the changed view of what should motivate politicians’ decisions.
They should not go by emotions and immediate atmosphere, Gonzalez said.
German political scientist Yasha Mounk warned that due to social networks, extremists’ voices could be heard more.
Due to them, populism is on the rise, while populists often promise to take power from governments and pass it to the people, Mounk said.
However, populists only have a very narrow concept of what people is, he added.
They label those whom they do not consider people or with whose views they disagree traitors who must be destroyed, Mounk said.
Australian political scientist Roberto Stefan Foa spoke about a connection between the rise of populist groupings and globalisation.
He said globalisation creates new inequalities in society and that people living outside big cities feel left abandoned by elites.
This inequality is a feeding ground for populism, which is therefore no temporary phenomenon of the year 2016 but will accompany societies for the whole decade at least, influencing the everyday policy, Foa said.
Opposing him, Czech Vaclav Havel Library director Michael Zantovsky said all problems cannot be blamed on globalisation, but it is necessary to admit that politicians and media, too, have contributed to people’s loss of trust in democracy and the consequent rise in populism.
Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro said in North and South America, the local election systems contributed to the polarisation of society as even the smallest majority meant an election victory.
In Latin America, corruption and organised crime pose serious problems for democracy, especially in connection with the general feeling that politicians cannot be punished.
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza said there was no longer any democracy in Russia.
President Vladimir Putin has managed to consolidate his authoritarian regime and in his discussions with foreign partners he has dismissed any criticism over human rights abuses, denoting them as interference in domestic affairs, Kara-Murza said.
However, the world must not reconcile itself with this. Oppression at home is always followed by an external aggression. One cannot expect the state violating the rights of its own citizens to respect those of others, he added.
Kara-Murza said he believed young Russians would stand up against the authoritarian regime.
Change in the atmosphere in society is proven by opposition protest marches, attended by tens of thousands of people across Russia. These are a hope for Russia’s future, he added.
The EU should find a common way with which to face Russian propaganda, the director of the Lithuanian online television station Liberty TV, Andrius Tapinas, said.
President of Radio Free Europe Thomas Kent said he was sceptical of whether the Russian state-run television would be defeated in the Russian audience.
Kent said there was much activity on social networks and there was a Russian-speaking television network.
Despite this, it can be hardly believed that the Russian state television would be defeated in the effort to address all Russians.
Kent said Western media could only reach the Russians who themselves wanted to critically think of their government.
Tapinas said he was afraid the EU was now on the losing side of an information war.
However, there is also a shift to the better because the EU has already realised that Russia is waging a propaganda campaign targeting EU countries.
Tapinas said the Russian propaganda mainly aimed at ethnic minorities in the Baltics, trying to stimulate a feeling of alienation from their own country among them.
