• SHQIPËRI
  • KOSOVË
  • MAQEDONIA E VERIUT
  • MALI I ZI
  • Revista në PDF
6 July, 2025
Edicion Special
  • Home
  • OP/ED

    Azerbaijan dismisses claims of involvement in Israel-Iran conflict

    Elite Purges: Internal Conflict or External Design?

    Trump’s Threat of U.S. Intervention in Iran Exposes Roots of Critics’ Fears

    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

    Serbia’s Request to the ICJ Turned Resolution 1244 into a Closed Chapter and Kosovo’s Independence into an Internationally Recognized Reality

    Unpredictable world

    Promoting Arab Culture and Language in the Framework of Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.

    ‘A Tragic Circus’: Albanian PD Figures Lash Out After LaCivita-Backed Campaign Collapses

    Erosion of Liberal Democracy in Europe Complicates Canada’s Search for Like-Minded Allies

  • Interview

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

    Exclusive/ The chairman of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta: “The will of the citizens will triumph in Albania, as it did in North Macedonia”

    Exclusive/ The Russian Ambassador to Albania Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev: Russia only aims to end that war started by the West in Ukraine

    Exclusive/ Skopje’s top diplomat to Tirana, Dancho Markovski: OSCE Chairmanship a Project of National Importance for North Macedonia

    Exclusive interview of Croatian Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: ‘There is progress in Croatian-Albanian relations, but it is still not enough’  

    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

    Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Anar Huseynov: President Aliyev’s visit to Albania opened a new page in our relations through the specific accords reached

  • Realpolitik

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    Chancellor Merz passed “the exam”! Political stupidity! 5 per cent or study Russian! The Firing East!      

    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

    That’s it! The quartet of hope! Shame on Kosovo! The Summit of a Community without Identity!

    Only praises and prolises for Meloni! Facts versus untruths! Immediate ceasefire and genuine peace, no deal for new occupation! Back after 60 years !

    US nuclear tariff bomb!! Europa fires back! NATO ok, but with or without Article 5? Kallas urges reforms!

    Europe riarmed! Germany’s epochal shift! Spoiled soup! EU Commissioner Kos demands reforms!

    Europe tightens the ranks! The Euro-Atlantic Alliance in danger! USA-1945!! A true Peace, not new occupation!

    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    The law of force over the force of law! Multilateral diplomacy is the victim! Euro-Atlantism in danger! Munchen split the West!

  • Current Events

    Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

    Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

    When bridges divide more than rivers…

    Skopje Growth Plan Summit: Western Balkans Six Urged to Accelerate Reforms

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    Geneva meeting begins in bid to halt escalating Israel-Iran conflict

    From Donetsk to Northern Kosovo: Geopolitical Games with the Kosovo Precedent

  • Top News

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

    Russia Proposes Second Round of Ukraine Peace Talks in Istanbul on June 2

    International leaders congratulate Prime Minister Rama after his victory in the parliamentary elections, securing a fourth term.

    Albania’s parliamentary elections competitive and well run but lacked level playing field, international observers say

    Top Ukrainian delegation arrives in Paris for talks with Western officials

    Marta Kos: Albania Making Rapid Progress Toward EU Integration

  • YOUR VOICE
  • Shqip
No Result
View All Result
Argumentum
  • Home
  • OP/ED

    Azerbaijan dismisses claims of involvement in Israel-Iran conflict

    Elite Purges: Internal Conflict or External Design?

    Trump’s Threat of U.S. Intervention in Iran Exposes Roots of Critics’ Fears

    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

    Serbia’s Request to the ICJ Turned Resolution 1244 into a Closed Chapter and Kosovo’s Independence into an Internationally Recognized Reality

    Unpredictable world

    Promoting Arab Culture and Language in the Framework of Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.

    ‘A Tragic Circus’: Albanian PD Figures Lash Out After LaCivita-Backed Campaign Collapses

    Erosion of Liberal Democracy in Europe Complicates Canada’s Search for Like-Minded Allies

  • Interview

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

    Exclusive/ The chairman of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta: “The will of the citizens will triumph in Albania, as it did in North Macedonia”

    Exclusive/ The Russian Ambassador to Albania Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev: Russia only aims to end that war started by the West in Ukraine

    Exclusive/ Skopje’s top diplomat to Tirana, Dancho Markovski: OSCE Chairmanship a Project of National Importance for North Macedonia

    Exclusive interview of Croatian Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: ‘There is progress in Croatian-Albanian relations, but it is still not enough’  

    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

    Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Anar Huseynov: President Aliyev’s visit to Albania opened a new page in our relations through the specific accords reached

  • Realpolitik

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    Chancellor Merz passed “the exam”! Political stupidity! 5 per cent or study Russian! The Firing East!      

    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

    That’s it! The quartet of hope! Shame on Kosovo! The Summit of a Community without Identity!

    Only praises and prolises for Meloni! Facts versus untruths! Immediate ceasefire and genuine peace, no deal for new occupation! Back after 60 years !

    US nuclear tariff bomb!! Europa fires back! NATO ok, but with or without Article 5? Kallas urges reforms!

    Europe riarmed! Germany’s epochal shift! Spoiled soup! EU Commissioner Kos demands reforms!

    Europe tightens the ranks! The Euro-Atlantic Alliance in danger! USA-1945!! A true Peace, not new occupation!

    WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    The law of force over the force of law! Multilateral diplomacy is the victim! Euro-Atlantism in danger! Munchen split the West!

  • Current Events

    Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

    Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

    When bridges divide more than rivers…

    Skopje Growth Plan Summit: Western Balkans Six Urged to Accelerate Reforms

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    Geneva meeting begins in bid to halt escalating Israel-Iran conflict

    From Donetsk to Northern Kosovo: Geopolitical Games with the Kosovo Precedent

  • Top News

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

    Russia Proposes Second Round of Ukraine Peace Talks in Istanbul on June 2

    International leaders congratulate Prime Minister Rama after his victory in the parliamentary elections, securing a fourth term.

    Albania’s parliamentary elections competitive and well run but lacked level playing field, international observers say

    Top Ukrainian delegation arrives in Paris for talks with Western officials

    Marta Kos: Albania Making Rapid Progress Toward EU Integration

  • YOUR VOICE
  • Shqip
No Result
View All Result
Argumentum
No Result
View All Result
Home ENGLISH

Populism/ The corruption of democracy

1 September, 2019
in ENGLISH, English OP/ED
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Democracies are generally thought to die at the barrel of a gun, in coups and revolutions. These days, however, they are more likely to be strangled slowly in the name of the people.

Take Hungary, where Fidesz, the ruling party, has used its parliamentary majority to capture regulators, dominate business, control the courts, buy the media and manipulate the rules for elections. As our briefing explains, the prime minister, Viktor Orban, does not have to break the law, because he can get parliament to change it instead. He does not need secret police to take his enemies away in the night. They can be cut down to size without violence, by the tame press or the taxman. In form, Hungary is a thriving democracy; in spirit, it is a one-party state.

The forces at work in Hungary are eating away at other 21st-century polities, too. This is happening not just in young democracies like Poland, where the Law and Justice party has set out to mimic Fidesz, but even the longest-standing ones like Britain and the United States. These old-established polities are not about to become one-party states, but they are already showing signs of decay. Once the rot sets in, it is formidably hard to stop.

At the heart of the degradation of Hungarian democracy is cynicism. After the head of a socialist government popularly seen as corrupt admitted that he had lied to the electorate in 2006, voters learned to assume the worst of their politicians. Mr Orban has enthusiastically exploited this tendency. Rather than appeal to his compatriots’ better nature, he sows division, stokes resentment and exploits their prejudices, especially over immigration. This political theatre is designed to be a distraction from his real purpose, the artful manipulation of obscure rules and institutions to guarantee his hold on power.

Over the past decade, albeit to a lesser degree, the same story has unfolded elsewhere. The financial crisis persuaded voters that they were governed by aloof, incompetent, self-serving elites. Wall Street and the City of London were bailed out while ordinary people lost their jobs, their houses and their sons and daughters on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain erupted in a scandal over mps’ expenses. America has choked on the lobbying that funnels corporate cash into politics.

In a survey last year, over half of voters from eight countries in Europe and North America told the Pew Research Centre that they were dissatisfied with how democracy is working. Almost 70% of Americans and French people say that their politicians are corrupt.

Populists have tapped into this pool of resentment. They sneer at elites, even if they themselves are rich and powerful; they thrive on, and nurture, anger and division. In America President Donald Trump told four progressive congresswomen to “go back…to the broken and crime-infested places from which they came”. In Israel Binyamin Netanyahu, a consummate insider, portrays official inquiries into his alleged corruption as part of an establishment conspiracy against his premiership. In Britain Boris Johnson, lacking support among mps for a no-deal Brexit, has outraged his opponents by manipulating procedure to suspend Parliament for five crucial weeks.

What, you might ask, is the harm of a little cynicism? Politics has always been an ugly business. The citizens of vibrant democracies have long had a healthy disrespect for their rulers.

Yet too much cynicism undermines legitimacy. Mr Trump endorses his voters’ contempt for Washington by treating opponents as fools or, if they dare stand on honour or principle, as lying hypocrites—an attitude increasingly mirrored on the left. Britain’s Brexiteers and Remainers denigrate each other as immoral, driving politics to the extremes because compromising with the enemy is treachery. Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s Northern League, responds to complaints about immigration by cutting space in shelters, in the knowledge that migrants living on the streets will aggravate discontent. Mr Orban has less than half the vote but all the power—and behaves that way. By ensuring that his opponents have no stake in democracy, he encourages them to express their anger by non-democratic means.

Cynical politicians denigrate institutions, then vandalise them. In America the system lets a minority of voters hold power. In the Senate that is by design, but in the House it is promoted by routine gerrymandering and voter-suppression. The more politicised the courts become, the more the appointment of judges is contested. In Britain Mr Johnson’s parliamentary chicanery is doing the constitution permanent damage. He is preparing to frame the next election as a struggle between Parliament and the people.

Politics used to behave like a pendulum. When the right made mistakes the left won its turn, before power swung back rightward again. Now it looks more like a helter-skelter. Cynicism drags democracy down. Parties fracture and head for the extremes. Populists persuade voters that the system is serving them ill, and undermine it further. Bad turns to worse.

Fortunately, there is a lot of ruin in a democracy. Neither London nor Washington is about to become Budapest. Power is more diffuse and institutions have a longer history—which will make them harder to capture than new ones in a country of 10m people. Moreover, democracies can renew themselves. American politics was coming apart in the era of the Weathermen and Watergate, but returned to health in the 1980s.

Scraping Diogenes’ barrel

The riposte to cynicism starts with politicians who forsake outrage for hope. Turkey’s strongman, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suffered a landmark defeat in the race for the mayoralty in Istanbul to a tirelessly upbeat campaign by Ekrem Imamoglu. Anti-populists from all sides should unite behind rule-enforcers like Zuzana Caputova, the new president of Slovakia. In Romania, Moldova and the Czech Republic voters have risen up against leaders who had set off down Mr Orban’s path.

The bravery of young people who have been protesting on the streets of Hong Kong and Moscow is a powerful demonstration of what many in the West seem to have forgotten. Democracy is precious, and those who are lucky enough to have inherited one must strive to protect it. ■

The Economist

Related Posts

Current Events

Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

6 July, 2025
Current Events

Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

5 July, 2025
Balkan Overview

When bridges divide more than rivers…

3 July, 2025

Follow US

Subscribe

Receive Argumentum Magazine by Email

Last Posts

Forum of Alumni from Saudi Universities in the Balkans

6 July, 2025

Why Iran with Nukes is a Danger – Just Look at Cuba in 1962

5 July, 2025

When bridges divide more than rivers…

3 July, 2025

Skopje Growth Plan Summit: Western Balkans Six Urged to Accelerate Reforms

1 July, 2025

Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

30 June, 2025
Argumentum

“Argumentum”, një proces intelektual …

Contact Us

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Follow Us

Media Partner

Register

Receive Argumentum Magazine by Email
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact

© 2022 Argumentum. All Rights Reserved. | NUIS: L91415033Q

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • OP/ED
  • Interview
  • Realpolitik
  • Current Events
  • Top News
  • YOUR VOICE
  • Shqip

© 2022 Argumentum. All Rights Reserved. | NUIS: L91415033Q

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.