From the Age of Conflict into the Will of the People

Democracy in most parts of the World went into reverse in 2023. It is one of the main findings sampled in EIU’s Democracy Index.

With nearly 40% of the world population living under authoritarian regimes and EEUU being considered the beacon of the democratic World relegated to the Flawed democracy category, it is mainly the European countries leading the way. Among them, the Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark) continue to dominate the full democracy rankings, taking five of the top six spots, with New Zealand claiming second place.

The fact that less than 8% of the World’s population lives in full democracies perhaps explains why, within all of the 169 SDG targets, there is not a single mention of democracy. It reflects the complexity of the UN and the process of reaching a consensus on some of humanity’s most essential questions.

Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a rollback of freedoms around the globe, the 2023 results point to a continuing democratic malaise and lack of forward momentum, states the report named ‘Age of Conflict’

Climate change is a much more significant challenge, and we are facing it with some very challenging questions:

Can we reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development without more ‘full democracy’?

Can sustainability save democracy?

Can autocratic regimes lead the climate fight?

Immersed in the Age of Conflict, finding common ground and bridging the ideological differences that distract us from working together may seem difficult. However, once the shared awareness of the global threat to our survival sinks in, the Will of the People will ultimately overcome the differences and set us on to achieve our Common Goals. No matter the type of governance that stands behind the Will of the People, the Web of Life and its biosphere rules us all.