The Dystopia of Modern Democracy

“Democracy is never a thing done. Democracy is always something that a nation must be doing” - Archibald MacLeish

Democracy; we know we want it, we think we have it, and we take it for granted, but what exactly is it? Leading political sociologist, Larry Diamond, broke down the concept of democracy as a system of governance into four key components:

1. A system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair election;

2. Active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life;

3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens; and

4. A rule of law in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Democracy is important not only in protecting the rights of citizens equally from abuses of power, but in creating stability. The two basic forms of democracy are direct democracy, where citizens directly participate in decision making (e.g. referendums), and representative democracy, where political power is exercised by elected officials. Democracy allows us, the people, to become the highest sovereign political power. Yet, public satisfaction in democracy is at an all-time low. This was reported by the Centre for the Future of Democracy, whose recent report compared global data sets amongst four generations ‘millennials, Generation X, baby boomers, and the interwar generation’ to measure public satisfaction over democracy across the world in the last quarter of a century. A major trend found shows that amongst 18 to 34-year olds, 55% are dissatisfied with democracy. This is increasingly worrying, but unfortunately not unforeseeable.

Recently, our concept of democracy has been weaponised. Perhaps one of the most publicised being the recent 2020 US Presidential Elections; perfectly illustrating the blurring of the dividing line between dictatorship and democracy. Our political reality has entered a surreal realm of fiction. This can be demonstrated by comparing recent events in American politics against similar acts in a world imbued with magic; Harry Potter’s Wizarding World.

For those unfamiliar with Harry Potter, through her 7-book series, JK Rowling introduces the reader through the eyes of the young protagonist, Harry Potter, to Wizarding Britain. While painting a tale where good triumphs over evil, the series explores the need to accept and celebrate diversity, especially when under attack from the nefarious overarching villain of Voldemort and his Death-Eaters. JK Rowling, herself, found a comparison between Trump and Voldemort, remarking in response to the former's 2015 proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country that “How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad”.

From Dolores Umbridge-approved coiffed hair to being branded as ‘he must not be named’, the comparisons between Trump and the worst of the wizarding world are endless. I believe that the political comparisons do not end with monikers. Through democratic threats like; the influence of the economic ‘big money’ elites on government policy (the effect of billionaires with large lobbying capacity ominously similar to the despicable acts of Lucius Malfoy, bribing and blackmailing officials to pursue his own agenda, while remaining untouchable to the law because of his favour among high-ranking officials and the power his money brought), the sparse representation of the majority in favour of mass representation of narrow-interest groups leading to long-term shifts of priorities, values, and assumptions (not unlike the Ministry of Magic’s bigoted view that Magic is Might and lack of representation of non-wizards and bias against non-pure bloods in the government), state censorship and invalidation of dissenters (“hem hem” - Umbridge), and the abusive of executive power (similar to the totalitarian decisions of the Ministry of Magic on changing Sirius Black’s prison sentence to an execution in Prisoner of Azkaban), the worst of the fictional elements of the Wizarding World are embodied in reality, and so I will focus specifically a threat brought by Trump’s allegations of voter fraud and its misinformation.

In the Order of the Phoenix, the reader is introduced to concepts of political misinformation and media censorship. As Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge is the highest authority for the British Wizarding world, a power he constantly abuses to discredit claims that Voldemort has returned. From overzealously pursuing a disciplinary hearing from the offset of the book, whereby he attempts to manipulate the judicial system to deprive Harry of a right to fair trial, Fudge actively ignores the truth in his deference for his love of power. The Ministry manipulates the media, allowing a relentless smear campaign against Harry, labelled as an “untrustworthy lunatic”. By using the Daily Prophet to disseminate false information and propaganda, Fudge not only refuses to acknowledge the truth himself but manipulates the public which reinforces a bias for blood purity.

The real-world has seen similar tactics through Trump’s sensationalism of ‘fake news’ throughout the last 5 years. Throughout his presidency Trump has spread false information, more recently declaring himself the rightful winner of the 2020 Presidential election and spreading baseless claims of voter fraud. This has gone further than having allowed Trump’s foundation to question the legitimacy of President-elect, Joe Biden’s, but has called into question the American democratic voting system. As the latest of Trump’s affronts to democracy, from foreign manipulation in domestic politics to the suppression of Black and minority voters, Trump distorted democracy throughout his presidency. By using organisations, such as FOX News, Trump controls the political narrative in the same manner as Fudge but to a more dangerous effect. As media conglomerates become more monopolistic, consumers see a limited range of perspectives, distorted facts, and bias, thus narrowing their opportunities to develop independent opinions and engage with issues. This leads to blind trust in the words of our institutions, which as we learnt from the Wizarding world’s denial of Voldemort’s return, does not end well.

This strategy includes bold claims of rampant voter fraud, which fall apart in the face of research and dismissed in court but leave a lingering bitter question of whether there remains any integrity in US elections. The short-term effect of Trump’s misinformation on mail-in ballots allowed him to capitalise on citizen’s fears during a global pandemic, but the long-term effects show permanent doubt in the security of the democratic process. By refusing to concede and claiming that he has been cheated out of his rightful Presidency, Trump’s words (or lack of them) are corrosive to democracy, and unfortunately bearing results. For example, a Politico poll shows that following the 2020 election, 70% of Republicans do not believe the election was “free and fair”; a figure that has doubled from the 35% who claimed so before the election. Through unsubstantiated claims of illegal voting, Trump’s base can justify further barriers to voting and rolling-back expansions into early voting and mail-in voting measures.

By throwing accusations of fraud, Trump has proudly stated “if you count the legal votes I win”. Followed by unmerited court cases (many already dismissed for lack of any basis), Trump indicates that any vote against him, especially those mailed-in, is illegal. This is factually and constitutionally inaccurate, as whole votes can be challenged if there are reasons to believe they are not legitimate, they cannot be deemed illegitimate because of their form or who they are in favour of. If voters do not believe that the President has been legitimately elected, if there is no recognition that their vote has counted, you effectively undercut the power of voting, and thus, the power of democracy. The long-term effect of this will be limiting citizen participation in the electoral process.

The US is not alone in its attack on democracy. In 2020 alone, the UK government announced its intention to break international law through consequences of Brexit parliamentary bill, Poland lost its Freedom House status as a Full Democracy, India saw a rise in draconian media and communications blackouts. The world is seeing a trend in democratic backsliding.

Now, you may read this and say, ‘what rubbish’, it would be ludicrous to suggest any comparison to a world where ghosts, goblins, and wizards exist. And it would be. We do not live in the fantasy of Harry Potter. We live in a world headed on a much darker path, where the worst elements of fiction have become apparent, and this is not just limited to Harry Potter but a plethora of fictional favourites. From the conflict between freedom of expression and crushing dissent within the The Hunger Games, the attacks and persecution of women and their control over their body portrayed in The Handmaid’s Tale, to the refugee crisis portrayed in DC’s Supergirl, our fiction bears increasingly relevant parallels to our modern world. From heeding and learning from fictionalised dystopia, we need to be aware of the threats to our democratic rights and allow them to empower us in a truly magical way.