Young people do not believe in democracy? Global survey
The Open Society Foundations' global report on human rights and democracy has been published. A disturbingly high percentage of young people approve of authoritarian rule.
Open Society Foundations was established in 1993 by a billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. Its main objectives are to promote democracy, civil and open society, human rights, education, and market-oriented socio-economic reforms. On 12 September, the organisation published a comprehensive report on global perceptions of human rights and democracy.
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The report examined public sentiment in 30 countries, including Poland
The data was collected in 30 countries around the world, including Poland, and represent the perception of approximately 5.5 billion people. There is a consensus among those surveyed that human rights reflect their personal values. Interestingly, one country in which this is not the case for the majority of respondents is Japan.
Human rights is the term so often used in public discourse that everyone is assumed to know what it represents. It is worth reminding ourselves that it is a set of very specific provisions contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its complementary documents.
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
No faith in democracy among the youth?
The report's authors are concerned about the fact that young people aged 18-35 are so disillusioned with the state of democracy in their countries that they accept military or authoritarian regimes as "good methods for governing a country".
According to the report, in Poland, army rule is acceptable to 22% of respondents, and rule by authoritarian politicians to 17%. These are figures for the entire population. Data for individual countries was not split into age categories. It appears that the vast majority of Poles want democracy - even the majority of the youngest age group, disgusted with the state of Polish politics.
The report also collected opinions on the global challenges that are most important to the respondents. This is perhaps the best illustration of the discrepancy between what politics deals with, and what societies and individuals face. Poverty and social inequality came on top ex aequo with the climate change.
Globally, only 7% of respondents care about migration, and that topic is often used by politicians for political gain. Furthermore, 66% of respondents believe that countries should open safer and legal migration routes for refugees. In Poland, it is 42%.
The reports of democracy’s demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, it has a strong pulse. And the gravest threat it faces is not the rival appeal of authoritarianism but rather the question of whether democratic leaders can deliver for their populations.
The summary of the report reads: "On average, 86 percent of respondents want to live in a democratic state. People still believe in its potential for generating solutions to common challenges (…) those surveyed strongly tend to the view that authoritarian regimes are less able than democracies to fulfil these needs. Only 20 percent believe that the latter can "deliver what citizens want."
