Understanding democratic decline

The warnings are accelerating that democracy is at risk around the world, and especially in the U.S.A. The Brookings Institute report, Understanding Democratic Decline in the United States, indicates that by multiple measures it has fallen out of "full democracy" to "flawed democracy" status.

Evidence of democratic decline is most alarming as a lead-up to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. The recent PRRI and Brookings research indicates growing acceptance of violence as a tool of political change and agree that it may be necessary to break laws or norms in order to correct the drift of the country toward views that they oppose. Former President Trump appears to have a strangle-hold on the Republican nomination, a clear reflection of the anti-government mood that endorses lawlessness as a legitimate alternative.

Higher education has long claimed a role in cultivating citizenship and democratic practice. The hope is that this commitment can be renewed by adopting principles such as those recommended by the Constructive Dialogue Institute, which launched a Leadership Institute for presidents and higher education leaders to help them improve inclusion and belonging while advocating free expression.  Even while being threatened by conservative state leaders like Ron DeSantis, it's important to renew a commitment to foster open and free inquiry on campus. Fostering open dialogue open is central to democratic practice and student affairs educators play an important role in preparing students and student organizations to engage in fair processes of participation and engagement.

The scrutiny higher education leaders have faced in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel's months-long retaliation may cause institutions to cease public comment on highly-charged political issues. Criticism of slow, weak, or unpopular responses is presumably the rationale for Harvard University's interim President announcing that it will begin to refrain from comment.

Central to countering democratic decline is a commitment to embrace the true pluralism that exists throughout the U.S.A. Few enclaves can afford to remain closed to the diversity of culture, thought, faith, and politics that exists in their midst. Eboo Patel's essay ends with, "In this moment of extreme polarization, to serve the nation and improve themselves, campuses need to become laboratories and launching pads for pluralism." Zimmerman's Campus Politics was published 7 years ago but Mintz recommends it as a timely perspective as campuses are caught in the cross-hairs of ideological conflict.

One of the questions that must be asked is whether the ideals of democracy have ever worked for everyone in the U.S. and elsewhere. This question is addressed in the "Democracy Re/Designed" project which asserts from the start that it has not worked for many in the American context. This project and the explanation of its origins and purpose describes an aspirational democracy that is equitable, inclusive, and just. With voting an important of demonstration of democratic engagement, registering youth to participate in elections is critical. However, conservatives are actively discouraging voter registration efforts; Florida enacted penalties for in-person voter registration that has killed most of the state's higher education voter drives.

A core challenge to protecting democratic ideals and systems is the profusion of information from various media, including uncontrolled social media. Media of all types reflect specific philosophical and political views which warrant examination for both information and disinformation. Tamara Schwartz, author of Information Warfare, recommends teaching that highlights 1) the individual, 2) the information ecosystem, and 3) rivalry for power as important elements to judging the credibility of various information sources. Examining the psychological dynamics of technology and media can then reveal how the power of cults and propaganda lead to control of information and people.

House Republicans blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for the rise in anti-Semitism that has accelerated in recent months. Perhaps those blaming higher education and DEI work should review the discord and dissension spurred during Trump's rise to the U.S. Presidency and sustained in his current bid to return to the White House. Trump's emergence as the favored US Presidential candidate of conservatives is coupled with a general shift toward authoritarianism as documented by the PRRI. Republicans in general, and especially those who support Trump, endorse authoritarian parenting, violence as a legitimate form of dissent, and see the US as a privileged enclave for formerly white Europeans to practice and protect their religious rights and culture. Three out of 10 Americans adhere to or sympathize with Christian nationalism. While partisanship and open conflict dominating the news is challenging, the current circumstances will become history and should be explored with a full understanding of how we got to a place where divisiveness seems to lurk everywhere.

Accelerating the attack on democratic practice in higher education, conservative activists issued the General Education Act as a way to dictate the content of higher education institutions. The legislation "would force public colleges to adopt a uniform general education curriculum devoted to conservative values, give a new dean near-total power to hire all faculty to teach these classes and then require the firing of many existing faculty members in the humanities and social sciences."

The Brookings report is not an opinion piece, but is supported by multiple indicators of decline in democratic institutions including a dysfunctional legislature, executive overreach, and an increasingly biased judiciary. The report also clearly indicates that the Trump presidency was not responsible for the decline but was more a wake-up call for the gradual erosion of democratic safeguards.