This article is written by Birgitta Ohlsson, Director of Political Parties, National Democratic Institute (NDI).

  • The problem: The world is facing the 18th year of democratic backsliding.
  • Why it matters: When the authoritarian political parties are on the rise the democratic system is challenged globally.
  • The solution: Political parties need to build pro-democracy cross-party coalitions to defend democracy.

This spring, 50 years have passed since Swedish ABBA won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England with its masterpiece "Waterloo".

But is history repeating itself as ABBA sang? Will the ongoing autocratisation that is currently happening in 42 countries — home to 35% of the world’s population — continue? Will less than 8% of the world’s population live in full democracies next year? Will authoritarianism win when 49% of the world’s population goes to the polls this year?

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It is a fact that the level of democracy enjoyed by the average person was dismal — down to 1985 levels, a year full of terrorist attacks and natural disasters. But 1985 was also the year when Gorbachev introduced the reform movement — perestroika — in the Soviet Union and when American popstars launched the world-uniting hit "We Are the World".

The inevitability of history?

It is easy to get stuck in a rut with self-fulfilling prophecies about political parties, autocracy and the inevitability of history — that the Roaring twenties will automatically lead into the dark authoritarian thirties.

History is not doomed to repeat itself if we choose to take up the fight to defend democracy and give rise to an age of hope, rather than fear.

For the sake of optimism, let us focus on the latter. Democratic, broad, cross-ideological and multi-party electoral coalitions were essential to the defeat of autocrats in Poland, Brazil and Moldova. History tells us that you can keep the far-right, the far-left and the other extremes out if democratic parties build coalitions together, as in Germany in 2021. And sometimes the good guys even win outright, as in Guatemala last year. Defeating the growing storm of authoritarians is not possible without a coordinated democratic response.

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Opposition forces are more willing to unify when they recognise a threat to democracy, as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has shown. But they need to act quickly. Very often, the first step to counter authoritarian backsliding is an electoral victory by pro-democratic political parties. The fact is that democratic opposition parties take far too long before they form new coalitions. If they miss that critical window of opportunity, the next step is that civil society is torn down, and media freedom and the rule of law disappear faster than you can say “Waterloo”.

We must never debate our right to debate

Cross-party collaboration between democratic parties, no matter the ideology, is not about having the same opinion about everything from levels of taxation to welfare. But for parties that authentically believe in democracy, there is a huge difference between healthy competition with tough debates about issues and destructive polarisation challenging the very concept of democracy itself. This is the paradox of tolerance, and in our lively debates on policy, we must never debate our right to debate — free and fair elections are not negotiable. Respecting the rule of law, freedom of speech and democracy are not debate topics similar to housing regulations, agricultural subsidies, or even defence spending. True believers in our democratic system know this to be true, regardless if they identify with the conservative, liberal, left, green or other ideologies. That is precisely why millions of people in Germany, a nation that once saw the end state of democratically embracing authoritarianism, are taking to the streets to protest against Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a party whose lead candidates for the 2024 European Parliament elections have been closely connected to dictatorial regimes such as China, having had top party officials arrested on suspicion of espionage charges, spying for the same country. This is all before exploring the party’s close connections to evangelists for totalitarianism in Russia.

Naturally, it would be fair of the reader to assume — given the West’s history with this — that this is simply a McCarthyist attempt to smear a party. But make no mistake, any substantial gains by the authoritarians will lead to a decline in the level of democracy in those nations. Authoritarian forces are thriving because democratic parties are failing to unite. Traditional parties once exalted as the standard-bearers of liberty have become hijacked by charlatans — so-called ‘reformers’ in centuries-old democracies. And both new and old parties have jumped on the populist train — or joined coalitions far from their roots — simply for the sake of gaining power. This desire to seek the sun regardless of the consequences, produces results we hope never to see.

It is also confusing because democratic parties should have the confidence to stand on their own, or with true friends. As V-Dem has shown, democracy directly corresponds to roughly 94% less infant mortality than occurs in dictatorships. Democratisation leads to economic growth — an average of 20% higher GDP per capita 25 years down the road. People are happier, on average, in full democracies. Finally, the ever-classic still applies — democracies rather settle disputes through discussion than war.

Our collective destiny is what we make it

In many ways, the fight to preserve democracy is more than just an abstract ideal. As you read this, far from the tranquil shores of Western Europe and North America, there are people fighting and dying to preserve or gain that most sacred right — to write the story of their own future. From the streets of Iran to the mountains of Myanmar and to the plains of Ukraine — the struggle lives on.

ABBA’s song "Waterloo" was hopefully wrong. Inevitability is a funny thing, an inherent oxymoron; our collective destiny is what we make it, and nothing else. History is not doomed to repeat itself if we choose to take up the fight to defend democracy and give rise to an age of hope, rather than fear.

But all is not doom and gloom. ABBA, almost 40 years later, with their melody "Ode to Freedom", captured a more optimistic message.

“I would like to think that freedom is more than just a word. In the grand and lofty language, freedom often goes unheard."

Let us hope that democratic political parties will unmute themselves and take up the banners of liberty.

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(Image credit: Unsplash)