The shining city on the hill, Capitol Hill to be exact, fell on January 6. It was a sad day not only for America but also for many countries that borrowed the concept of democracy from it. A peaceful transfer of power is at the root of democracy and if an outgoing leader does not respect conventions, then it is time to ponder, is democracy at stake or was former US President Donald Trump’s behaviour an aberration?

Aristotle thought of aristocracy, monarchy, and oligarchy as better forms of Government. They, over a period of time degenerate and democracy results. Political cycles come and go; it is your luck which one you witness. The moot question then, is the decay inevitable or avoidable? If yes, who checks this decay and how? What needs to be done so that people choose the right person and base their decision on merit and not on falsehood?

Across the world, on the Capitol Hill, in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal and the Raisina Hill, democracy is under attack like never before.

Modern democracy became the flavour of the day in the 20th century. Many nations that had nothing to do with it, prefixed or suffixed “republic” or “democratic” to join the club. So you have the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for instance. Many countries gave democracy a chance, batting on the collective wisdom of the people. But come the 21st century and that notion lies flat on its face. The collective wisdom got Vladimir Putin for Russia and Trump for America, with the danger of his return looming large in 2024. Democracy is finding the going tough even in small countries like Nepal, where the Prime Minister dissolved Parliament to save his chair. So, is democracy finding it hard to cope with the changing realities of the 21st century? And are we confusing demagogy with democracy?

A Pew Research Centre survey for democracies around the world shows people’s disenchantment with their democratic system. People across 27 nations surveyed by Pew in 2018 were more dissatisfied than satisfied with the way democracy was working in their country. This included the US, the UK and Japan.

It doesn’t stop there, the dissatisfaction is increasing with each passing year. As per the Pew survey, between 2017 and 2018, dissatisfaction with democracy grew in 14 of the 27 countries surveyed, 10 showed no change whereas only three countries’ satisfaction with democracy increased. India topped the chart where dissatisfaction increased by 22 per cent.

The reason for this disenchantment is that democracies are not delivering what they ought to. Development is not on the menu, slogans are. Insensitivity to people’s woes, corruption and a blurry vision is leading to sloppy performance by the so-called democratic governments. The paradox is that these leaders have a mass base and a committed cadre to fall back upon. A true “Cult Demagogue”, if you want to call it that!

So, why are people around the world favouring undemocratic leaders? What leads to anti-poor, pro-capitalists leaders gaining ground? How come Trump made it to the White House in 2016 while well-meaning Hillary was dumped by the people? And Putin is so popular in Russia that people sing the song “A man like Putin” in his praise.

The loopholes in a democratic system have always been there. Now it is even easier, faster, effective and cheaper to exploit them. Thanks to  technologies of the 21st century, the mind of a voter is hackable. And that has led to demagogy entering the system through the back door, unnoticed. Modern technology has made it easier to sway opinions. It is not by chance that political parties  spend a huge amount of money on taming social media and on its analytics.

At the moment it is the (mis)use of social media that is being used to manipulate the masses. Earlier a leader had to say something to be heard. Today he just has to drop a hint on Twitter and the Twitter warriors  do the rest for him. The message is  loud and clear, and in the language the people understand best. It is garnished with fake references and laced with eloquence. A hackathon is taking place right there.

Before the canards and lies on social media are detected they have already reached their target audience and have been read by millions. The Washington Post kept track of the lies Trump spoke while in office. It clocked 20,000+ lies that Trump spoke in his four-year tenure. That is more than 12 lies a day!

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may not be so ubiquitous today but soon it will be. And that will only make matters worse. Campaigns are being designed to target the gullible and political novices. The mass media, the fourth pillar that could impart the right information, has already broken into two parts. By and large, it doesn’t support the people, it supports the powers that be. In the US and in India it is divided and in Russia it doesn’t exist. The media is doing everything, hunting ghosts in old forts, tracking Baghdadi but telling the truth.

When the voter thinks he is going to exercise his will, he is sadly mistaken. It is the propaganda at the back of his mind which is making a choice for him. No wonder the Right-wing ideologies across the world are so in. You like it or not they are catchy, appeal to the simple mind, and give your ego a boost, an identity to live and die for. The reason is that the simple masses understand and respond to simpler ideas, faster than complex issues.

To “build a wall” or “make America great again” resonates with Americans rather than the intellect of Hillary Clinton. As does the “back to glorious old days of Russia” or the “back to Hindutva” rant back home. Modern societies have grown so complex that they are beyond the comprehension of a common educated man, let alone a semi-literate person. So Putin’s “Strong President - Strong Russia” slogan works with an average Russian. With his limited political acumen he thinks a strong leader would deal with the wrongdoers. But at the end of the day he has bolstered a wrongdoer and weakened his own position. “Building a wall” as a simple solution to the American problem of unemployment and crime sells. Catchy phrases seldom bring tangible results and that is why people’s lives become more and more miserable.

So what are the lessons for the world’s biggest democracy from the world’s oldest democracy? There can be many takeaways from the time Trump campaigned for the presidency to the time when he said goodbye at the Andrews Airport. Democracies are fragile and sensitive ecosystems that can be easily tampered with and manipulated. Democracy can easily degenerate into demagogy and no one would even notice. The abnormal quickly becomes the new normal. People,  like a frog, would boil to death before realising that the temperature has risen.

The US democracy prevails as their institutions are strong, ours are not. Even the Trump-appointed judges did not back him, not to mention the ultimate betrayal by Mike Pence. If that had not happened, the story would have been different. That said, Trump’s  supporters who fed on his 20,000-odd lies remain and would not mind fomenting trouble again. That is the biggest danger. Demagogy. It is back with a bang in our times wearing a shining armour of technology that can dazzle and demean at the same time.

President Trump was playing golf and games when Joe Biden was declared the winner. Giving conventions and courtesy a miss, Trump did not congratulate his opponent or give a concession speech. It takes time to build institutions, democratic institutions.

India’s tryst with democracy is yet to celebrate its diamond jubilee. Democracy, like cricket, is a game of glorious uncertainty. A wrong move here can ruin your chances of survival. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in this country which is going to have a new Parliament soon. We certainly need new framework for a functioning democratic set-up built in infallible stones.

 Today democracy is not what it used to be: Pluralism not majoritarianism defined it, inclusive not exclusive, and certainly not insensible. There is a stark departure from the good old days that needs to be restored. It needs rebooting. This needs to be done wholesale. It needs to be done by the people themselves through the technology that is hacking their mind, a kind of reverse engineering.

Ultimately it is going to be human intelligence vs AI. Let’s bet on human intelligence. Check the background of the people who win the mandate and examine their criminal records. See their balance sheets, read their statements and hear their lies and ability, and marvel at their talent to spread lies. Democracy is undergoing a metamorphosis for sure. Hold it right there. Democracy is far from over. It prevails. Damn demagogy!

The shining city on the hill, Capitol Hill to be exact, fell on January 6. It was a sad day not only for America but also for many countries that borrowed the concept of democracy from it. A peaceful transfer of power is at the root of democracy and if an outgoing leader does not respect conventions, then it is time to ponder, is democracy at stake or was former US President Donald Trump’s behaviour an aberration?

Aristotle thought of aristocracy, monarchy, and oligarchy as better forms of Government. They, over a period of time degenerate and democracy results. Political cycles come and go; it is your luck which one you witness. The moot question then, is the decay inevitable or avoidable? If yes, who checks this decay and how? What needs to be done so that people choose the right person and base their decision on merit and not on falsehood?

Across the world, on the Capitol Hill, in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal and the Raisina Hill, democracy is under attack like never before.

Modern democracy became the flavour of the day in the 20th century. Many nations that had nothing to do with it, prefixed or suffixed “republic” or “democratic” to join the club. So you have the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for instance. Many countries gave democracy a chance, batting on the collective wisdom of the people. But come the 21st century and that notion lies flat on its face. The collective wisdom got Vladimir Putin for Russia and Trump for America, with the danger of his return looming large in 2024. Democracy is finding the going tough even in small countries like Nepal, where the Prime Minister dissolved Parliament to save his chair. So, is democracy finding it hard to cope with the changing realities of the 21st century? And are we confusing demagogy with democracy?

A Pew Research Centre survey for democracies around the world shows people’s disenchantment with their democratic system. People across 27 nations surveyed by Pew in 2018 were more dissatisfied than satisfied with the way democracy was working in their country. This included the US, the UK and Japan.

It doesn’t stop there, the dissatisfaction is increasing with each passing year. As per the Pew survey, between 2017 and 2018, dissatisfaction with democracy grew in 14 of the 27 countries surveyed, 10 showed no change whereas only three countries’ satisfaction with democracy increased. India topped the chart where dissatisfaction increased by 22 per cent.

The reason for this disenchantment is that democracies are not delivering what they ought to. Development is not on the menu, slogans are. Insensitivity to people’s woes, corruption and a blurry vision is leading to sloppy performance by the so-called democratic governments. The paradox is that these leaders have a mass base and a committed cadre to fall back upon. A true “Cult Demagogue”, if you want to call it that!

So, why are people around the world favouring undemocratic leaders? What leads to anti-poor, pro-capitalists leaders gaining ground? How come Trump made it to the White House in 2016 while well-meaning Hillary was dumped by the people? And Putin is so popular in Russia that people sing the song “A man like Putin” in his praise.

The loopholes in a democratic system have always been there. Now it is even easier, faster, effective and cheaper to exploit them. Thanks to  technologies of the 21st century, the mind of a voter is hackable. And that has led to demagogy entering the system through the back door, unnoticed. Modern technology has made it easier to sway opinions. It is not by chance that political parties  spend a huge amount of money on taming social media and on its analytics.

At the moment it is the (mis)use of social media that is being used to manipulate the masses. Earlier a leader had to say something to be heard. Today he just has to drop a hint on Twitter and the Twitter warriors  do the rest for him. The message is  loud and clear, and in the language the people understand best. It is garnished with fake references and laced with eloquence. A hackathon is taking place right there.

Before the canards and lies on social media are detected they have already reached their target audience and have been read by millions. The Washington Post kept track of the lies Trump spoke while in office. It clocked 20,000+ lies that Trump spoke in his four-year tenure. That is more than 12 lies a day!

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) may not be so ubiquitous today but soon it will be. And that will only make matters worse. Campaigns are being designed to target the gullible and political novices. The mass media, the fourth pillar that could impart the right information, has already broken into two parts. By and large, it doesn’t support the people, it supports the powers that be. In the US and in India it is divided and in Russia it doesn’t exist. The media is doing everything, hunting ghosts in old forts, tracking Baghdadi but telling the truth.

When the voter thinks he is going to exercise his will, he is sadly mistaken. It is the propaganda at the back of his mind which is making a choice for him. No wonder the Right-wing ideologies across the world are so in. You like it or not they are catchy, appeal to the simple mind, and give your ego a boost, an identity to live and die for. The reason is that the simple masses understand and respond to simpler ideas, faster than complex issues.

To “build a wall” or “make America great again” resonates with Americans rather than the intellect of Hillary Clinton. As does the “back to glorious old days of Russia” or the “back to Hindutva” rant back home. Modern societies have grown so complex that they are beyond the comprehension of a common educated man, let alone a semi-literate person. So Putin’s “Strong President - Strong Russia” slogan works with an average Russian. With his limited political acumen he thinks a strong leader would deal with the wrongdoers. But at the end of the day he has bolstered a wrongdoer and weakened his own position. “Building a wall” as a simple solution to the American problem of unemployment and crime sells. Catchy phrases seldom bring tangible results and that is why people’s lives become more and more miserable.

So what are the lessons for the world’s biggest democracy from the world’s oldest democracy? There can be many takeaways from the time Trump campaigned for the presidency to the time when he said goodbye at the Andrews Airport. Democracies are fragile and sensitive ecosystems that can be easily tampered with and manipulated. Democracy can easily degenerate into demagogy and no one would even notice. The abnormal quickly becomes the new normal. People,  like a frog, would boil to death before realising that the temperature has risen.

The US democracy prevails as their institutions are strong, ours are not. Even the Trump-appointed judges did not back him, not to mention the ultimate betrayal by Mike Pence. If that had not happened, the story would have been different. That said, Trump’s  supporters who fed on his 20,000-odd lies remain and would not mind fomenting trouble again. That is the biggest danger. Demagogy. It is back with a bang in our times wearing a shining armour of technology that can dazzle and demean at the same time.

President Trump was playing golf and games when Joe Biden was declared the winner. Giving conventions and courtesy a miss, Trump did not congratulate his opponent or give a concession speech. It takes time to build institutions, democratic institutions.

India’s tryst with democracy is yet to celebrate its diamond jubilee. Democracy, like cricket, is a game of glorious uncertainty. A wrong move here can ruin your chances of survival. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in this country which is going to have a new Parliament soon. We certainly need new framework for a functioning democratic set-up built in infallible stones.

 Today democracy is not what it used to be: Pluralism not majoritarianism defined it, inclusive not exclusive, and certainly not insensible. There is a stark departure from the good old days that needs to be restored. It needs rebooting. This needs to be done wholesale. It needs to be done by the people themselves through the technology that is hacking their mind, a kind of reverse engineering.

Ultimately it is going to be human intelligence vs AI. Let’s bet on human intelligence. Check the background of the people who win the mandate and examine their criminal records. See their balance sheets, read their statements and hear their lies and ability, and marvel at their talent to spread lies. Democracy is undergoing a metamorphosis for sure. Hold it right there. Democracy is far from over. It prevails. Damn demagogy!