Rebuilding European Democracy : Resistance and Renewal in an Illiberal Age

provided invaluable support in advancing the text. My work has benefited in recent years from the support that several foundations have provided to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for work relating to democracy and democratic activism. They include the Ford Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. I am grateful for this support but of course remain solely responsible for the views expressed in this book. This book is not a rallying cry for democracy and is not pitched as a series of recommendations for what governments and other actors should and should not do to preserve democracy. Rather, it is a close and critical analysis of real-life reform efforts. The book's basic tenor is to engage seriously with democratic actions and ask, in constructively critical fashion, how they might become more dynamic and innovative in the future. While developing a critique of these reforms' shortcomings to date, the book is written in sympathy with and great admiration for the effort of countless citizens, civic organizations, politicians, parties and officials working hard to ensure that Europe's democratic weaknesses do not develop into a deeper or even fatal crisis for the continent's most precious attributes of political freedom. Conversations and cooperation with many scores of these reformers inspired and informed the text. If the book helps in any way change the terms of debate over European democracy, it would be a testament to their commitment. ## Rebuilding European Democracy Many governmental, political and social actors have developed responses to Europe's democratic malaise at multiple levels -from the local through to the national and EU levels. Europe's democracy problems have been grave and far-reaching. Yet, a spirit of democratic resistance has slowly taken shape. This book argues that the pro-democratic fight back may be belated, but it is real and has assumed significant traction. Efforts to rebuild European democracy have emerged at several different levels. Civic movements, national and subnational authorities, political parties and EU policymakers have all moved to upgrade their formal commitments to defend and rethink democracy. Many of them have redoubled such efforts in the wake of Covid-19. These different initiatives have not been strong or effective enough entirely to quell Europe's political ill health, but they offer the promise of meaningful democratic renewal. The book argues that this needs to be advanced further in particular through more ambitious citizen-oriented political innovation. ## Beyond democratic pessimism The book examines the different forms this democratic rebuilding has taken and assesses their significance. It proceeds from the belief that a focus on democratic responses is essential to move current debate into a necessary next stage of analysis. For many years, analysts have focused mainly on stressing the scale of Europe's democratic weaknesses. From the mid-2010s a raft of books and articles appeared dissecting what experts feared was democracy's imminent collapse, its terminal crisis, its de-consolidation, its defeat to a forbidding return of nationalist authoritarianism across Europe. On an almost daily basis, articles Country 2009 2009-19 change "In recent years serious concerns emerged over the state of European democracy. Many democracy indices are reporting a year-on-year drift towards less liberal politics in the countries of the European Union. Polls regularly suggest that the voters are coming to question democratic norms more seriously than for many decades. Here, Richard Youngs assesses these risks as many analysts, journalists and politicians stressed the danger of Europe descending into an era of conflict, driven by xenophobic nationalism and nativist authoritarians slowly dismantling liberal democratic rights. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified these fears. There is another side of the democratic equation, however. Youngs argues that governments, EU institutions, political parties, citizens and civil society organisations have gradually begun to push back in defence of democracy. With each chapter, Youngs shows how many governmental, political and social actors have developed responses to Europe s democratic malaise at multiple levels. Europe s democracy problems have been grave and far-reaching. Yet, a spirit of democratic resistance has slowly taken shape. This book argues that the pro-democratic fightback may be belated, but it is real and has assumed significant traction with various types of democratic reform underway, including citizen initiatives, political-party changes, digital activism and EU-level responses."-- Provided by publisher 1. Introduction -- 2. Measuring the challenges to European democracy -- 3. Citizen responses: the people mobilise -- 4. Government responses: democratic consultation on the rise -- 5. Political party responses: democratic realignment? -- 6. Digital responses: reclaiming tech for democracy -- 7. EU responses I: taking on illiberal democracy -- 8. EU responses II: towards a democratic union? -- 9. Pathways to European democratic renovation