Democratic Hope
& Fierce Resistance
Covid-19 has amplified longstanding trends undermining democratic values across Latin America, including poor institutional performance, sluggish economic growth, high underemployment, inadequate health and social protection systems, as well as high levels of inequality, informality and poverty. Yet, a new report suggests that the next electoral cycles until 2024 present a unique opportunity for wholesale democratic renewal:
Everywhere you turn, democrats' response worldwide to repression and poor governance - so starkly revealed by Covid - is defiance, resistance, planning, and re-imagining what democracy can be. In Europe, a new report by leading human rights campaigners takes aim at Germany's switch to a more intrusive contract tracing app, the Resistance Bureau analyses how to actively resist authoritarian practices across Africa during the pandemic, while Thailand’s anti-government movement continues to challenge the poor handling of the crisis response. With hope growing in the fight against Covid itself, the fight for democracy - genuine political freedom and economic justice - is just beginning.
In today's update we're highlighting:
- New International IDEA report Democratic Governance as an Effective and Enduring Response to the Challenges Facing Latin America
- New Interamerican Institute for Democracy report on parliamentarism as a possible way to strengthen democracy
- Eye on Germany including webinar today on elections, contact tracing apps, and privacy
- New analysis of anti-government protests in Thailand
- Vietnam's new emergency laws and the risk of "individual tyranny"
- Additional items in the Policy Hub
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⚡ New Report: Democratic Governance in Latin America
Covid-19 has amplified longstanding trends undermining democratic values across Latin America, including poor institutional performance, sluggish economic growth, high underemployment, inadequate health and social protection systems, as well as high levels of inequality, informality and poverty. Do the coming years present an opportunity for wholesale democratic renewal?
"The region requires structural change and this is, of course, nothing new. But now may be the most propitious moment in decades due to the electoral super-cycle that Latin America is experiencing from late 2020 until 2024, a period in which all presidential positions in the region are up for renewal, together with numerous legislative and subnational authorities. It is a unique opportunity that the region cannot afford to miss. We must make the most of this moment to bring about the historic transformations necessary to build a democratic governance that will bring peace, prosperity and social justice."
- INTERNATIONAL IDEA, ‘Democratic Governance as an Effective and Enduring Response to the Challenges Facing Latin America’ (27 September 2021)
See also:
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⚡ Webinar Today: Germany Election Roundup
Germans flocked to the polls last Sunday to pick new political leadership and, ultimately, a new chancellor in one of the most important elections yet held during the pandemic. With Angela Merkel stepping down as chancellor after sixteen years of leading the country, any successor government will play a key role in shaping the future of not just Germany, but the European Union and the transatlantic relationship. After a tight campaign and even closer election, all eyes are focused on Germany and the coming coalition negotiations between Germany’s leading political parties. Join the Europe Center today (30 September) 8:30-9:15 (ET) / 14:30-15:15 (CEST) for another conversation in the #GermanyVotes: The Superwahljahr Series, analyzing the election outcome, evaluating the coalition possibilities, and discussing the differing perspectives of several European capitals on the future of Germany’s political landscape.
See also:
- Blog Maxim BÖNNEMANN & Liz HICKS, ‘Traffic light or Jamaica? What to make of the German election results’ Election Watch (29 September 2021)
- Blog EUROPP team, ‘Five questions as Germany goes to the polls’ EUROPP Blog (26 September 2021)
- Podcast Covid-19 & Democracy Podcast 'The Sun Goes Down on the Merkel Era: Pandemic Politics in Germany' Covid-19 & Democracy (15 September 2021)
- Podcast The Current Podcast 'After 16 years of Angela Merkel, what’s next for Germany?' (17 September 2021)
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⚡ Politics over Privacy: Germany's Contact Tracing Apps
In 2020, governments around the world developed and implemented the use of contact tracing mobile apps in response to curbing the spread of Covid-19. While some apps sparked controversies, the German Corona-Warn-App (CWA) was hailed as the best practice for privacy and transparency. However, a growing public concern about the slow response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus later prompted German authorities to move away from the privacy-friendly CWA to a more intrusive mobile app (Luca).
This new study published by the Civil Liberties Union For Europe (Liberties) provides evidence of how authorities compromised transparency and personal data security to improve political perceptions and appear more competent. Julia Reda, former Member of the European Parliament, offers:
"It is dangerous how easily German policymakers choose a populist solution over an alternative, expert-backed solution".
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⚡ Thailand's Pandemic Protests
In the past two months, Thailand’s anti-government movement has seen many transformations as public anger continues to simmer over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic under the leadership of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha. The people, particularly the political, business, and military elite, are craving stability and security, and will likely look to a new leader if the Prayut government fails to deliver. This contest may not come from within Parliament, but instead, from the military, with a return to the ongoing cycle of coups and elections, which has become idiosyncratic to the Thai political environment.
Thailand was also one of the 18 countries that introduced measures to control so-called ‘fake news’ last year during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, ongoing pro-democracy protests have challenged the role of the country’s monarchy – previously a taboo topic. Authorities have resorted to violence to end the protests and journalists and news outlets have also been caught up in the crackdown. The government also recently revived its harsh lese majeste laws, which punish criticism of the royal family.
For more about protests and press freedom in Thailand, see:
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⚡ Vietnam: 'Terrifying' Emergency Powers
As a new enabling act accords emergency powers of unprecedented breadth to the Prime Minister - a "blank cheque" - is the structure of the Communist Party, in which the PM ranks third, the main mechanism to restrain him?
- LE NGUYEN Duy Hau, ‘Vietnam: Emergency Powers in Time of Pandemic and the Role of the Written Constitution’ Int’l J. Const. L. Blog (28 September 2021)
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⚡ Podcast: Resisting Africa's Authoritarian Pandemic
We've just added a great new podcast to the Podcast Hub. The Resistance Bureau is a global discussion on the most pressing issues that confront Africa today. They bring together leading activists, civil society representatives, lawyers, journalists and political leaders from all parts of the continent to share perspectives and strategies on how to effectively resist authoritarianism and repression. Their goal is to amplify their voices, identify lessons learned, and build solidarity across Africa and beyond. Various podcasts have focused on the impact of the pandemic.
Listen:
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⚡ Key Additional Updates on COVID-DEM
COVID-DEM is updated daily - here are a number of additional updates:
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⚡ Thank You to Our Team - and You can Join Us, Too!
Keeping COVID-DEM updated is no small task, and we are so lucky to have such a dedicated team who take such care, week after week. We're currently reviewing the latest batch of applications, so feel free to apply using this form.
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COVID-DEM is You
Every day we work with people worldwide to build this platform for improving our understanding of how the pandemic is challenging democracy, and the many ways we can defend and improve our democracies.
Our sincere thanks to every one of you who has helped us to build COVID-DEM into what it is today. Don't hesitate to send us your work and suggestions, to democraticdecay@gmail.com or through our online form.
Dr Tom Gerald Daly
Director, DEM-DEC
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Tom is the creator and Director of DEM-DEC and an academic and consultant in the area of public law, human rights, and democracy-building. Find out more here.
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