The fact that new political parties are arising is certainly positive, but it's certainly not enough to reverse the unfolding scenario. I believe that we need to start from the basic
All over the world, democracy is in crisis. In the so-called North of the world, it is the rise of populist policies driven by a hyper partisanship that impedes dialogue and debate, the bedrocks of democracy. The cost of living, including lack of housing, further complicates this scenario as simplistic, demagogic policies easily appeal to a public that is not only fatigued but also distressed.
In the South, these same phenomena can be compounded by ineffective policy making, by a way of doing politics that is dominated by elites in power who are often corrupt. In the developing world, party politics becomes an end to itself rather than a medium to meet transformative and lives changing goals.
In both scenarios, the common people are at the receiving ends. It is almost consequential that not only frustration grows on them and also with it, a strong sense of alienation and disempowerment. The outcome of this doomy vortex is people's disenchantment with the public life. This is especially concerning because the youths, normally referred to as the next generations of leaders, stop caring about our common future.
Imagine what will happen if those who supposedly are going to lead their societies step back rather than step up. What would happen when young people only think about themselves rather than the common good? Will a wave of selfishness prevail among them, a stumbling block towards a better and more equal and just society that can happen only if people show interest and participate in public life?
Certainly, many youths in a country like Nepal have to be really selfish. They have to think about themselves and their families because they have no other options. They become labourers in the Gulf or in Malaysia or they use a student visa to start a new life in countries where they will have to endure hardships. Unfortunately for many of them, thinking about higher, aspirational goals is a luxury that they cannot afford.
Inequity and inequality create an unlevel playing field in which thinking of the common good is only for those who are lucky enough, by lottery of birth. The problem is that an overall level of carelessness and alienation also spread across all the income brackets of the population. In short, either for lack of want or for simply lack of interest, the so-called next generations of leaders are turning their back to their duties and responsibilities.
Many democracies, especially in the global South like Nepal, are hampered by a political class that is proving ineffectual and unable to meet the most crucial challenges of these times. As a consequence, a sense of impotence emerges and contagiously affects the people. The end result is further disenchantment. Then we have the rise of internet empowered smart phones and with them, the assault by social media on our lives. It is not only about decline on our mental health but also the decline these apps brought on our daily habits like reading. Disinformation, misinformation, poor contents become the hallmark of what people read through mobiles.
There is a lack of deeper reflection and analysis, and therefore it is easy for demagogue or corrupt or simply uncapable politicians to come up with poor policies.
The fact that new political parties are arising, outfits that offer new faces and potentially can help with the provision of sound policy making, is certainly positive, but it's also certainly not enough to reverse the unfolding scenario. I believe that we need to start from the basic, from the importance of education not only as a means to impart know-how but also as a platform that instills a sense of civic engagement.
It is a challenging proposition because, if we think of public schools in a nation like Nepal, we are all fully aware of the challenges constraining them.
Can a learning institution that struggles to meet its basic mission of imparting knowledge and contents also become a beacon for a democracy renewal? But a civic renewal also flourishes by offering better and more compelling opportunities for youths to get engaged with.
Sports itself, if practised in a certain way and inspired by certain values, can be a tool to let young people shape their character and grow responsibly. Clubs like Leos and Rotaract clubs, though apparently elitist, have also an enormous responsibility, the same that each youth club in place across this nation has. Their work normally has been geared towards social action, solving and fixing local issues in the field of health, education or livelihoods.
But they do also carry an enormous responsibility to ensure that a different form of civic engagement, the backbone of democracy, gets re-energised and re-booted. I mean the need to ensure that people can come together to talk and discuss. The urgency for young people to read more and better. The duty of having young people get deeper into the issue and for them to have the capacity to master active and attentive listening. The calling to ensure that the young generations embrace accountability at personal and collective levels.
Last week on the 15th of September, the world celebrated the International Day of Democracy. The theme that was chosen for this year celebrations was "empowering the next generations". A better topic could not have been chosen because we need to create a conducive environment for the youth to do so. The same energies that many of them are putting for climate action should also be placed to revitalise democracy.
Because without a better, more deliberative democracy, able to formulate stronger, more inclusive and bottom-up policies, the fight against climate action will be lost. Unfortunately, the unimaginable is happening, and it is far from being good. Yet let's be clear on one thing: democracy is the only antidote against this looming decadence we are facing. That's why each day should be the day of democracy.
Galimberti is the co-founder of ENGAGE and The Good Leadership
A version of this article appears in the print on September 25, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
