Representative Democracy has been such a mainstay for the Western World that we tend to forget that democracy, like a living organism, has evolved. Alas, we even forget that the representative democracies of today look nothing alike compared to the ones 100 years ago. However, different problems require different solutions, and the old representative model has shown that it cannot overcome the difficulties. It now resembles more of an electoral business cycle, making Rousseau’s critique on the English people who thought themselves free because they could vote in elections still relevant.
What we need is more democracy, more deliberation, and more participation. In Europe and other parts of the world we have seen that there is a vibrant civil society ready to be part of new democratic models that inspire citizens to participate and engage. Instead of leaving the decision-making only to few people on short-terms that aim only to be reelected, citizens can be part of the process by identifying problems, by debating them, and finally by suggesting solutions. These alternative models can fill the voids of representative democracy and complement existing institutions by providing choices and the chance for the citizens to play a more important role in any governmental level and find a getaway from the current lethargy.
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While representative democracy remains the best available form of government, and the one preferred by most EU citizens, satisfaction with how it plays out varies greatly across the continent. Among the perceived weaknesses are high levels of political corruption, low resilience to disinformation, and out-of-touch governing elites.