Sparknews

In the assemblies of ancient Greece, the skeptron was a simple stick that passed from hand to hand and conferred the right to speak to whoever held it. Much more than the ballot, this ‘talking’ stick could represent now a desirable ideal for some of our struggling democracies. How can we reconcile the democratic debate with the pandemic’s constraints? At all levels, the system’s flaws become apparent. How much room for manoeuvre do local elected representatives have? How can we ensure those making crucial decisions hear the citizen’s expectations? Can a virus undermine human rights? Is an opposing political discussion even possible, considering the constraints of a pandemic and public health actions? Could the state of emergency’s measures become permanent, making control and surveillance mechanisms widespread — and acceptable for most? Will freedom be another casualty in the fight against the coronavirus?

With lockdown measures drastically restricting the scope of how most of us experience social reality, we have turned almost exclusively to our homes, our spaces, our families and friends, and ‘disconnected’ from the public place. Maintaining democracy under these conditions could be difficult. We could unearth the Greek spektron, giving every citizen a voice. After all, citizen awareness, civic participation, trustworthy information and transparent institutions exist to ensure public well-being. In mid-April, Jean-François Delfraissy, chairman of the French Scientific Council, said that civil society should be involved in the health crisis’ management, in order to avoid people from criticizing the authorities and accusing them of being authoritarian or ‘out of touch’. As the South Korean example shows, including society in the development of public policies is key to the success of active risk and disaster management.

Worldwide, new democratic practices are emerging from our current exceptional circumstances. In April, more than 1,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv against Benjamin Netanyahu and his government — while keeping a 1-meter distance from one another. Youth climate strikes continue — online. On March 28, members of housing movements across Europe protested from their balconies and windows, making noise and putting up banners. Last week, similar massive protests were held from thousands of Argentinian balconies —of course, using casseroles—, to object the release of violent convicted inmates from the country’s prisons due to the outbreak’s risks. Across the globe, workers commemorated May Day both online and on the streets. On April 4, the French National Assembly launched Le Jour d’après, a citizen debate and consultation platform, including workshops, supported by 65 MPs who committed to support the resulting proposed measures. There was even a workshop called “Democracy in the face of the crisis: renewing the democratic pact the day after”.

Is it up to elected representatives and politicians alone to rethink our system of governance, our political priorities and our public services? Or will we, as citizens, seize the tools available to us to engage in public debate, informed deliberation and experimentation with participative democracy methods? As Samuel Hayat reminds us, “Democracy, as an idea and as a practice, needs people to participate, to adhere, to believe in it.”

Even at home, people still use their right to protest and freedom of speech. In April, Polish human rights groups launched an online protestagainst a controversial bill on abortion. A day later, German activists protested against the EU’s treatment of refugees. On May 9, several civil society organisations and citizens across Europe will take part in Citizens take over Europe — a day-long online event to discuss current European problems and co-develop solutions from a political, social and individual perspective.

In this lengthy op-ed for the Boston Review, Archon Fung, political science professor and author of Full Disclosure: The Perils and Promise of Transparency, argues that Covid-19 requires more democracy, not less. Drawing examples from different parts of the United States, he examines how active democratic citizenship has driven some of the most important American achievements, through social justice, citizen-generated information local leadership and making the leadership accountable. You can read more here.