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How democracies die

2023-08-02 09:36:00, Opinione Ardi Stefa

How democracies die

Is our democracy in danger?
Do democracies die as they are born?
In fact, are they born? And when they are born, why do they continue to live and be so fragile?
What are the cases when they die or even the ways they kill democracies?
In fact, they are questions we ask every day, even though we would never want to ask them.

Some time ago I read an excellent book: "How Democracies Die", published in 2018, by authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Zimblatt, professors at the University of

The two authors, who have been studying dictatorships for years, but also new forms of global autocracy, also say that during the Cold War, military situations were a frequent phenomenon. Latin America was full of dictatorships that had emerged from military practice, as were countries from Africa and Asia.

These regimes had easily recognizable characteristics: the leading role of the army, the devaluation and even the dissolution of the Parliament, the destruction of elections and the disappearance of pluralism through the outlawing of parties, the imprisonment and murder of opponents, the absolute control of information and the censorship of everything.

After the Cold War, such situations seem to have been minimized or disappeared. However, the new autocracies have flourished, which at first glance can deceive you that they are normal democracies, since elections are held, there are parliaments and parties, there is little polyphony in the news or information shows and debates; leaders "speak the language of democracy".

Democracy may not die from tanks, but from an elected leader, president or prime minister, who has the ability to destroy the very process that brought him to power. Some of these leaders dismantle democracy quickly, but more often democracies are eroded slowly, bit by bit, through processes that are barely visible and belatedly understood by most.

A common feature of the new autocratic regimes is the preservation of the traditional framework of representative democracy, but in fact the essential functions of democratic institutions are largely or completely abrogated.

Levitsky and Zimblatt explain that democratic deviance today does not have the deafening noise that tanks and the army once made in the streets. However, today the deviation can happen anywhere, even in Europe or the USA, they warn.

The two professors identify the disturbing signs of the undermining of liberal democracy in an attempt to overcome the resistance of independent institutions, the opposition and other political forces and free intellectual thought, the control and blackmail of the media; in treating political opponents as enemies; in using the state to serve electoral purposes. The new autocracy looks especially at the weakening or even the disappearance of any political, civic and intellectual opposition.

According to them: Democracies can die in two ways.
First, the military coup. This is a more sudden and violent way to seize a democracy.
Second, the discrediting of the foundations of democracies. This is a slow and fast process. Basically, there is no turning back from the second path.
The authors say that democracies lose their democratic credentials slowly, in the most constitutional way, in front of everyone's eyes. Not from the outside, but from the inside.

As the most important pillars of democracy (Parliament, Justice, visual and written media), converge in the service of the government, the "elected" leaders manage to concentrate in their hands the maximum of power without even typically destroying democracy.
It is about a silent deviation, a silent and continuous coup with the use of "anesthesia", which society does not immediately perceive.

The electoral path to the destruction of democracy is dangerous. There are no tanks on the road. The Constitution and other democratic institutions continue to remain in place. People "vote". But it is they, the elected autocrats, who, under the veil of democracy, erode and empty its entire substance.
Many of the government's efforts to destroy democracy are "legal", have the approval of the law, or are accepted by the courts. Moreover, they are often promoted as efforts to improve democracy, which make the judicial system more efficient, fight corruption and help in the transparency of the electoral process. Newspapers continue to be published, but are owned by people connected to power. Citizens continue to criticize the government, but they often find themselves in difficulties, facing high taxes, unaffordable living costs, economic and existential difficulties.

In Albania, only in the last century and, especially, in the 32 years of our transition, we will find a great variety in the methods of overthrowing democracy. A clientelistic and corrupt system was built, directly or even informally influencing decision-making, investing in the lack of citizen response and installing a culture of adaptation to the regimes.

The image of thousands of Albanians seeking democracy and freedom in the streets in December '90 may still be in the memory of my generation, but it was not the only way to avoid autocracy.
It started as a spirit, as an aspiration and movement for freedom, it was created by idealists and romantics, it was used and manipulated by political speculators to create an autocracy, which destroyed values ??for the sake of the political immunity of 2-3 families.

The later pluralist governments were governments of leaders, without identity, often completely corrupt and abusive, which proved that Albanians were still unprepared for freedom, the justice system and the construction of a normal state, a normal life for citizens, a normal future for Albanians.

It seems, unfortunately, that every generation of politicians in Albania has some ideas about governance, which, whether they like it or not, aim to undermine democracy.

Aiming for absolute power constantly creates new paths to authoritarianism. In our country, the criminalization of parliament, the scandal of incendiaries, rampant thefts, buying elections, alienating the will of the people, blackmailing the media, investing in the destruction of the opposition, corruption at very high levels of the state, failure to uphold political and legal responsibilities , proves that we are on an advanced path of installing the autocratic state.

Whether the New Justice, progressive politics and internationals will have a restraining role in this regression of Albania, this remains to be seen.

Anyway, here we are, it is certain that the "Albanian case", if it will be analyzed by Levitsky and Zimblatt, will be food to enrich their book in the future.