German Jewish Scholar: ‘Warnings Signs Are Flashing Red’ for Democracies
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Western democracies are more under threat than one might think, according to a new study done by German Jewish scholar Yascha Mounk, reported The New York Times.
“The warning signs are flashing red,” he told the newspaper, speaking about his research into the durability of democracy in the United States and Europe. “That’s only one measure,” he said of his work. “But it should have us worried.”
Teaming up with Australian political scientist Roberto Foa, Mounk (a lecturer in government at Harvard) has written a paper that challenges existing narratives about the progress of democracy and raises concerns about the erosion of liberal norms in the United States and Europe.
Developing a three-factor model, Mounk and Foa posited that democracies show early signs of decay when the popularity of democracy suffers, the public shows more openness to nondemocratic forms of government and outsider political forces gain steam.
Writing in the Journal of Democracy, the two apply their model to explain Venezuela’s lapse into authoritarianism under former President Hugo Chavez and the increasing threat to the liberal order posed by Poland’s far-right Law and Justice Party, which prevailed in elections last year.
But that’s not all. Mounk, who grew up in Germany and has written extensively about those experiences, sees the disturbing trend as operative in the United States and Western Europe now, with events like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, coupled with public opinion polling that shows a lesser faith in democracy and greater willingness to countenance authoritarian forms of rule like military dictatorship.
Mount hopes that people take heed from his study. “Look, this stuff is already going on in other places,” he told The Times. “If there’s one task that we have as journalists, as academics, as thinkers, it’s to drive the stakes of this home for people.”
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
