Conclusion:

The Future History of Democracy

Stephen Stockwell

In the preceding chapters, the contributors have brought their expertise to bear on
many democratic moments, both expected and unexpected, down through history.
Together, these chapters tell quite a story of common people taking their chances to
create ideas, opportunities and institutions of government where their collective voices
have a role to play and often carry the day. But as more people identify themselves as
democrats, as more countries embrace democracy, as there is more opportunity for
participation at local, national and international levels, there is also evidence of a lapse
of faith, a moment of uncertainty, a loss of focus in the democratic project. There is an
irony in the present condition of democracy: the more it has been adopted around the
world since the end of the Cold War, the less enthusiasm there is for democracy in the
heartland of its greatest proponents. What hope is there for people risking their lives to
bring about democracy in Iran, Burma or China, when people in established
democracies like the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are just
not inspired by it anymore? For too many citizens in ‘advanced’ democracies, it seems
a game played by elites to protect their interests with only adverse consequences for
the daily life of the ordinary individual.
These tensions have been played out in daily events during the editing of this book.
As discussed in the Introduction, Freedom House’s 2011 annual report marked the
sixth consecutive year in which countries with declines outnumbered those with
improvements. In 2011 the number of electoral democracies declined to 117 from the
2005 peak of 123 and equivalent to the 1995 figure (Freedom in the World 2012). The
2011 Arab Revolutions of anti-authoritarian uprisings commenced in Tunisia and
spread to Egypt and Libya, but similar uprisings in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria were
put down with force. Meanwhile, in the West, inequities resulting from the global
financial crisis prompted popular grassroots movements, such as the protests against
austerity measures in Greece and other European Union countries and the Occupy
Wall Street movement.
Then there was the interesting case of the UK riots, where a police shooting of a
family man doing his domestic chores prompted young people to riot and plunder
shops. Many critics blame this behaviour on poor parenting, slack education and
personal ethical failures and all of these issues are relevant, but society also contributed
when the government alienated young people by giving police the powers for repeated,
close surveillance of them and when the advertising industry and mass media provided