Social accountability is crucial to reviving European democracy, says new report

Los Angeles/DNA – Even though European democracies remain the envy of the world, governance experts are warning that foundational institutions are slipping – a drop that may spell trouble for the region’s future.

The findings of a new report, titled “Sustaining and Expanding Europe’s High Governance Performance,” show that complacency, the “silent killer of governance,” must be addressed by bolstering democracy and engaging citizens.

The report relies on the European Berggruen Governance Index (EBGI) and was produced by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute and Berlin’s Hertie School. 

Europe’s democratic lead is safe, for now

At first glance, Europe continues to lead the global pack. Overall, Europe dominates the global index’s category of Consolidated Democratic States with 15 European countries ranked among the top 20. Among the success stories, the report highlights Estonia, which was able to combine European (EU) accession, fiscal discipline, low corruption and extensive digital government – all of which are key governance indicators.

Quality of life has improved around the world, with the provision of public goods increasing in all 39 European states surveyed by the researchers. However, those gains were not matched by Europe’s institutions, which have seen state capacity stall and democratic accountability decline since 2010, according to the report. Although the report shows that this trend is a global issue, in Europe the problem is more pronounced.

Strengthening societal accountability is needed

To begin addressing the governance gap that exists between Europe’s core and peripheral countries, researchers point to attacks on freedom of the press and a shrinking civil society as greater threats to democratic accountability than “rigged elections or captured courts.” The study highlights that media pluralism has dropped in all but eight of the European countries surveyed. The authors say that, in order to revitalize democracy, strengthening societal accountability is desperately needed.

The report details how media freedom and civil society are at the core of rebuilding democratic accountability, yet both have been harmed by financial cuts. In their wake, the economic changes have upended the traditional media landscape, a space that social media has not only been unable to fill, but also has in fact harmed accountability with a “cacophony of inchoate voices.”

In the researchers‘ view, media pluralism and civic space need to be treated as “governance infrastructure” to not only help “reinvigorate democracy and make citizens feel that they are represented” but to prevent the “silent killer” of complacency from taking hold.

The full report, “European Berggruen Governance Index – Sustaining and Expanding Europe’s High Governance Performance,” can be viewed and downloaded from the website of the UCLA’s Luskin School.

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