Report

Where’s the demos in democracy?

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies demonstrates that democracy delivers development better than other regimes.

Democracy is in crisis. Anti-democratic politicians and anti-rights movements are becoming more popular. Simultaneously, growing inequality around the world – a product of neoliberal capitalist societies – has left millions of people feeling left behind and alienated. This, in turn, plays into the hands of anti-democratic groups who are using it for exclusionary politics. Questions are being raised about whether democracy delivers results for the people.

This report responds to these challenges by demonstrating that democracy delivers development better than other regimes. The authors argue there is an urgent need to rethink democracy by centring people, power, and inequality, and put forward eight building blocks to strengthen democracy and resist democratic decline. This is important not only for democracy’s intrinsic values in terms of representation and inclusion, but also for the positive impacts it has on social and economic development globally.