THE SNS DEMOCRATIC AUDIT 1997/SNS DEMOKRATIRÅD 1997

Democracy across Borders

Report from the Democratic Audit of Sweden 1997
Olof Petersson, Jörgen Hermansson, Michele Micheletti, Anders Westholm.

Summary in English

The SNS Democratic Audit 1997 discusses the problems facing democratic systems that are divided into different territorial levels. Because societal problems are becoming more internationalised, the political system is now forced to work across traditional territorial boundaries. The search is on for structures and institutions for internationalised democracy that citizens can view as legitimate.

Voters give Swedish democracy a bad grade. Few citizens believe that the relationship between voters and their elected representatives within the European Union works well. Members of the public even consider popular government at the national level and in their own county councils as inadequate. Only municipal democracy receives a passing grade from voters.

The SNS Democratic Audit discusses the problems facing democratic systems that are divided into different territorial levels. Because societal problems are becoming more internationalised, the political system is now forced to work across traditional territorial boundaries. The search is on for structures and institutions for internationalised democracy that citizens can view as legitimate.

The contemporary debate on democracy is full of apprehensions. The optimism that characterised democracy's victory in Eastern Europe and in several developing countries has dampened. Some observers go so far as to wonder whether democracy will be able to survive its new challenges. They argue that democracy has always been associated with the nation-state, that national boundaries are now becoming porous, that attempts to construct democratic institutions on an international scale have failed and that the inability to deal with this situation is leading to a general crisis of legitimacy for democracy.

The Democratic Audit does not deny that contemporary democracy is now going through a legitimacy crisis. However, it emphasises that it is possible to do something about it.

Democracy is based on a relationship between voters and their elected representatives. Forward-looking leadership can renew citizen confidence in democracy. There are therefore good reasons to question the doomsday critics of democracy. The history of democracy is not only embedded in the nation-state. The idea of popular government has been practised at the local level for a long time. Its history stretches from the Greek city-states, to the cities of the Middle Ages, and to villages in contemporary municipalities and even civic associations.

Nor is there any need to discount the role that the nation-state will play in the future. National government will continue to be the most important territorial unit for political decision-making in the foreseeable future.

Political institutions are now going through crucial changes. The global political level is becoming all the more important. The same goes for the European, regional, municipal and sub-municipal levels. It may well be that Sweden and the Nordic countries have not increased in importance, but this does not mean that their importance has actually diminished. In other words, political power has not only moved from one level to another. The outlook of the entire political system is also under transformation. Popular government is now being realised in many different territorial arenas.

Certain Improvements in Sweden, Serious Problems with Democracy in the European Union
As in its earlier reports, the Democratic Audit provides a summary of the state of democracy in the Swedish political system. Democracy received a passing grade in certain areas - civil society, politicians as a fairly descriptive representation of the electorate, liberal freedoms, the rule of law and decision-making capacity. The weak points are inadequate control over the political agenda, problems in the public sphere, intolerance, lack of clarity in the separation of powers and weaknesses when it comes to economic resource control.

When compared with the 1996 report, the situation has changed in a number of ways. The dramatic negative change in the public sphere was temporary. The situation is back to the same rather negative level as reported in the 1995 audit. The evaluation of resource control has been changed from very negative to rather negative.

In one instance the development has become more negative. The Audit believes that problems with implementing decisions by the public administration are jeopardising effective government.

The evaluation of the European Union shows a number of democratic weaknesses. The EU suffers from several democratic deficits. Popular government is the most serious weakness. The Democratic Audit questions whether the EU can be said to meet minimum requirements of popular government. Other defects can be noted in relation to the criterion on effective government, though these are not as serious. Constitutional government is the only democratic cornerstone that receives a passing grade.

Results from the audit of municipal democracy are entirely different. Popular government is satisfactory. The most serious weaknesses of municipal democracy concern legal and constitutional issues. Constitutional government is the Achilles heel. Municipal reforms and reorganisations have led to problems regarding the rule of law, predictability, the division of responsibilities and supervisorial control.

The audit of democracy in the EU, the Swedish state and municipalities is not very encouraging. A summary evaluation would possibly be that democracy is just barely at a satisfactory level and that the weaknesses are obvious. Popular government functions at the municipal level, but the EU has serious problems when it comes to this criterion. Popular government is rather handicapped at the national level. All political levels have experienced problems with developing effective constitutional control. The greatest problems in satisfying this criterion occur at the local level. Effective government is also functioning badly. None of the contemporary political institutional levels have the power to solve the most important political problem of today, namely unemployment.

The Future of Democracy
The survey investigation of voters and their representatives which the SNS Democratic Audit conducted for this report shows that democracy is not doomed. Many voters are involved in societal matters and actively follow politics at the local, national, and international levels. Elected representatives are seriously concerned about the weaknesses in the political system. Both voters and representatives believe that democracy functions best at the local levels, where decisions are seen as most essential for the well-being of the people. Today citizens are more independent, knowledgeable and critical. They want to be involved in politics in a more significant way than in the past. Civic associations play an increasingly important role both locally and globally. The mass media and new information technology make it possible for people to meet together and exchange ideas. A global consciousness is the prerequisite for popular government and world peace.

The report from the SNS Democratic Audit began by questioning whether democracy has a future in a world of porous territorial boundaries and increasing complexity. The report ends with the conclusion that democracy, regardless of its weaknesses and problems, will not only survive but will develop and become more embedded in the global political system. We are at the beginning of the epoch of democracy.

Demokrati över gränser. Demokratirådets rapport 1997.
Olof Petersson, Jörgen Hermansson, Michele Micheletti, and Anders Westholm.
SNS Förlag, Stockholm 1997.

The Democratic Audit of Sweden is organized by SNS, the Swedish Center for Business and Policy Studies, a Stockholm-based research organization. The task set itself by successive Democratic Audit Groups has been to contribute to a constructive, objective debate on the workings of Swedish democracy by highlighting different aspects of the Swedish political system. The group is variously composed each year, but it is always made up of four to five independent social scientists.