This article is from a special report on the Athens Democracy Forum, which brought experts to the Greek capital last week to discuss global issues.
With less than a month left until the US general election, concerns about the state of democracy are growing around the world. And, unsurprisingly, money is also flowing into charities trying to help democracies thrive, or at least weather the coming political storms.
Funding for philanthropy supporting democracy has increased by 42 percent to 61 percent over four years, reaching nearly $7 billion in 2021 and 2022, according to a report by the Democracy Fund, an independent nonprofit organization. I did.
Emily Thielman, Third Plateau Vice President and Deputy Director of the Democracy Funding Network, said in advance of the Nov. 5 election between former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said “billions of dollars” were flowing into the United States alone. Both are based in the United States. She partnered with The New York Times to speak on a panel at the Athens Democracy Forum called “Rethinking Philanthropy: Can Money Save Democracy?”
“The stakes in the United States are very high, not just to achieve the kind of strong, prosperous liberal democracy that we want to have in 50, 100 years, but also, frankly, with all the resources that we have on the table. “We’re definitely going to get one every two years,” Thielman said. The network represents 600 nonpartisan funders who contribute to a variety of programs that support democracy.
Committee members agreed that it is more important than ever to help improve electoral practices and protect voter rights in remaining liberal democracies.
According to the 2024 Democracy Report published by the Sweden-based V-Dem Institute, 71 percent of the world’s population (5.7 billion people) lives in authoritarian states, an increase of 48 percent compared to a decade ago. I am doing it.
The report concludes that “democracy is in decline around the world.” He specifically mentioned the erosion of freedom of speech. “Freedom of expression remains the most affected element of democracy, worsening in 35 countries in 2023,” the report says.
At the same time, “market failure” caused by the rise of the internet has led to a decline in independent and public interest media around the world, said Nishant Lalwani, chief executive of the International Public Interest Media Fund.
“If you look at the overall state of journalism and democracy, we’re in pretty bad shape,” Lalwani said, citing efforts by authoritarian states like Russia and China to control media and fund propaganda. He pointed out that efforts to save independent journalism were being dwarfed.
He also pointed out that China has spent about $7 billion in the past decade buying up news organizations outside its borders, adding, “Unless we take collective action, we will not be able to stop this problem. I can’t,” he added.
Lalwani cited a recent report that found that the 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries spend just $500 million a year supporting independent public interest media, which is less than Russia’s annual propaganda budget. It was equivalent to one third.
“Authoritarian states find the media to be a cheap asset when it comes to controlling political influence, because they are not highly valued and there is not enough independent funding to support journalism.” he said.
With newspapers shrinking and disappearing around the world under the onslaught of social media and free online content, governments and private charities need to recognize that journalism needs support, Lalwani said. said. “Journalism is under-recognized as a public good,” he says. “If we want that public good to survive, we need to invest more money.”
Thielman said the shrinking of civil space, which exposes citizens in authoritarian countries to arbitrary abuse, is a phenomenon also seen in the United States. “We are paying a lot of attention to how we can ensure that people can act safely and efficiently from physical and cyber threats,” she said. “We are starting to see the closure of civic spaces in the United States, and it could get worse.”
The rise in online abuse, hate speech and outright disinformation is largely due to the unfettered power of technology platforms, Lalwani said.
“We are outsourcing the rules of public debate and elections to technology platforms,” he said. “Now the European Union and regulators are starting to realize this.” He said philanthropy is critical to governments regulating these platforms and developing rules for algorithmic transparency and combating hate speech. said it could be useful.
He said civil society has been slow to recognize that technology platforms are having “a huge impact on public debate and closed civic spaces.” “If we reopen that space, we definitely need to change things up.”
Thielmann emphasized the importance of avoiding partisan politics when setting democracy promotion goals.
“We are serious about separating favorable policies and political outcomes from democracy, because much of the democratic constituency lives on the left, and these things are often confused. ” she said. “The term democracy has become highly political and contentious, and there is a need to build broad ideological coalitions.”
Stefanos Oikonomou, founder of Emergent Sons, which raises funds from individuals and organizations for new initiatives in Europe, says philanthropy in Europe is precisely about avoiding the risk of being labeled partisan. He pointed out that there is a tendency to distance themselves from the electoral process. He said charities in Europe are less widespread and developed than in the United States and are more wary of political connections.
“In Europe, there is a strong understanding of what is public and what is private,” he said. There is a consensus that philanthropy should be made by individual actors and should not have too much power.
Ms. Thielman said research has shown that U.S. donors are drawn to programs that advance social justice and are less interested in supporting institutional initiatives that are popular in Europe.
Meanwhile, in the United States, many experiments with new voting practices are being trialled at the state level, such as ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to indicate their preferences on the ballot. “There are 50 states, so there are 50 mini-working institutes,” she said.
Oikonomo said charities should not rely solely on money, but should use all tools at their disposal to protect democracy from rising inequality.
“Democracy is being eroded and the world is on fire,” he said. “If some people don’t feel the flames, it’s because privilege protects them.”