Anheier on the Direction of Democracy Worldwide

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Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of public policy and social welfare at UCLA Luskin, co-authored a commentary about the current state and future of democracy for Project Syndicate. Anheier and his collaborators, Joseph C. Saraceno of UCLA and Edward L. Knudsen of the Hertie School in Berlin, consider what evidence of a global “democratic recession” means. “Realism requires us to reject doomsday predictions about the imminent demise of representative government,” they argue, while cautioning, “But it also means abandoning the teleological belief that liberal democracy will inevitably triumph everywhere.” Despite democracies providing better outcomes in quality of life and public goods they have provided over much of the last half-century, Anheier and colleagues point to research they helped conduct for the 2024 Berggruen Governance Index: Of the 145 countries included in the study, nearly half had both a rising quality of life and declining democratic accountability between 2000 and 2021.

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Understanding Europe’s Political Turmoil

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News organizations covering political upheaval in Europe have turned to the 2024 Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) for a deeper understanding of nations’ capacity to meet the needs of their people. PA Media cited the index’s finding that “long-term scars” caused by austerity and Brexit have stifled economic growth and undermined social cohesion in Britain. The public’s level of trust in many government institutions is at near-record lows, according to the BGI, a collaboration between the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute and the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. In France, the researchers found that “sluggish economic performance, persistent inequalities and tensions around migration” fueled a surge in support for the political right, according to the Democracy News Alliance. That said, the index still ranks the quality of governance in Britain and France among the highest of the 145 countries assessed.

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Democracy Challenged? The 2024 Berggruen Governance Index Updated report examines new data about the relationship between the quality of democracy, governance and life around the world over time

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The world has taken a small step backward on the path of democracy since 2010, according to a global index released this week by an international group of researchers. The 2024 Berggruen Governance Index, or BGI, shows slippage of measurable benchmarks of democratic accountability across 145 countries — from a 2010 average of 67 on a 100-point scale to 65 points in 2021, the latest year for which data is available. The global average had risen from 64 to 67 points between 2000 and 2010. The 96-page report, “Democracy Challenged,” was unveiled Wednesday by researchers at UCLA who collaborated on the project with the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute and the Berlin-based Hertie School. The report led by Helmut Anheier of UCLA Luskin examines the relationship between the quality of democracy, the quality of governance and the quality of life in over 140 countries over 20 years. The finding of slippage in the BGI’s Democratic Accountability Index is only a small setback, which “tempers some of the more dire assessments about the future of democracy,” the authors wrote. Countries with some of the largest declines in the democracy index are India, China, Venezuela, Thailand, Turkey, Yemen and Russia. In the European Union, Poland and Hungary saw significant backsliding, according to the report. The United States, which had risen from 91 to 95 points in the decade through 2010, has since fallen back to 86 on the democracy index. State capacity in the U.S. is also sliding, from a steady 79 points in 2010 to 64 in 2021. Yet on the public goods index, the country has steadily climbed from 84 points in 2000 to 87 in 2021. — Democracy News Alliance

 

Germany in the Doldrums

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Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of public policy and social welfare at UCLA Luskin, penned a commentary about Germany’s political and economic doldrums for Project Syndicate. Once a beacon of stability, the Germany of recent years has proved itself unprepared for global shocks and shifting geopolitics, including a pandemic, energy shortages, and hostilities in Europe and the Middle East. Anheier points to the “liability of success” as a key cause of the country’s woes. “What is true for companies is true for countries: good financial performance can lead to complacency. During periods of strong economic growth, governments become overconfident and disregard changing conditions,” he writes. “Sitting on its laurels for too long left [Germany] ill-prepared for today’s world.”

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Journal’s Special Issue Is Devoted to the Berggruen Governance Index

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Global Policy, an interdisciplinary journal pursuing public and private solutions to global problems and issues, today released a special issue focusing on the Berggruen Governance Index, a collaborative project between UCLA Luskin and the Berggruen Institute. The index is a tool for analyzing the Governance Triangle — democratic accountability, state capacity and public goods provision — to better understand how governments can create a more resilient future for their people. Based on an analysis of 134 countries over a 20-year period, the index aims to demystify the intricacies of governance and shed light on how countries meet the needs of their populations over time. Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of public policy and social welfare at UCLA Luskin and professor of sociology at the Hertie School in Berlin, is principal investigator of the Berggruen Governance Index. The special issue of Global Policy is organized into three parts. Part I offers an overview of the index and its implications, followed by regional and country-specific insights. Part II delves into detailed country and regional reports, examining key global powers and significant regions. Part III concludes the issue by summarizing a conference on governance indicator systems, surveying contributions from other projects, and presenting thoughts on the future of global governance indicators in an ever-changing and uncertain world. Articles in the special issue are open access and of interest to policy analysts, social scientists, and experts in government and international organizations.

 

A Far-Right Party Surges in Germany

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Helmut K. Anheier, adjunct professor of public policy and social welfare at UCLA Luskin, wrote a Project Syndicate commentary on the rising popularity of Germany’s largest far-right party. Once dismissed as a fringe group of radical nationalists, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has surged in the polls thanks to infighting and missteps by Germany’s political mainstream, as well as to the Ukraine war, which disrupted Germans’ sense of security as well as their energy supply. If the party’s popularity holds — it’s now polling at 21% support, up from 11% last year — it could position itself to becoming a coalition partner or leader in future elections, taking up the mantle of legitimacy that far-right parties in France, Italy and Sweden have adopted. The party has offered new clues about its agenda. Björn Höcke, a state party leader who has become a standard-bearer for the AfP, declared that “this EU must die, so that the real Europe can live.”

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Germany’s New National Security Plan Lacks Specifics, Anheier Writes

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An analysis by UCLA Luskin’s Helmut K. Anheier of Germany’s new national-security plan applauds the strategy but finds it too vague to be effective. Anheier’s article, distributed through Project Syndicate, notes that in modern times Germany has historically relied on the United States and NATO for protection, projecting itself as a champion of military restraint. “This illusion was shattered after Russia attacked Ukraine, and China, eager to exploit any perceived Western vulnerability, adopted a more assertive foreign policy,” writes Anheier, an adjunct professor of social welfare and public policy who oversees the Berggruen Governance Index. The plan recently issued by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not sufficiently address the institutional mechanisms — nor budgetary resources — needed to implement it. “The strategy will most likely remain on the shelf — a well-written account of what could have been,” concludes Anheier, who is also a professor of sociology at the Hertie School in Berlin.

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A Bungled Return of Treasured Artifacts

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Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of public policy and social welfare at UCLA Luskin, wrote a Project Syndicate commentary about the legal, political and moral questions surrounding a bungled attempt to repatriate the Benin Bronzes, plundered 125 years ago by colonial powers, to Nigeria. After Germany returned some of the elaborately decorated castings and carvings in December 2022, conflicting declarations about who their rightful owner is stoked confusion and raised fears that the cultural artifacts could wind up on the black market. “While there are lingering doubts about Europe’s and America’s willingness to return treasures that were looted or illicitly obtained during the colonial era, there are also questions about some countries’ readiness to honor the commitments governing such transfers,” Anheier wrote. To prevent narrow national interests from undermining the process of returning stolen national treasures, he urged that UNESCO be designated as the body overseeing such transfers, citing the body’s role as the custodian of world heritage sites.

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Anheier on Germany’s Uncertain Stance on the Russia-Ukraine War

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Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of social welfare and public policy, wrote an opinion article for Project Syndicate regarding Germany’s indecision about the role it should play in the Russia-Ukraine war. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germans were split on what action to take, with some advocating for more military support for Ukraine and others favoring a settlement to prevent the war from extending to other European countries. Anheier stressed the importance of NATO working with China, India and midsize powers such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia to improve communication and security. By doing so, nations would understand how conditions in Ukraine could easily worsen if action is not taken soon. “This is no time for fence-sitting and free-riding. Everyone will lose out from a broader conflict. If Germans want the fighting to end, they should demand that their government do its part to bring other governments to the table,” he said.

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Anheier on Challenge Ahead for Germany’s Leaders

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Helmut Anheier, adjunct professor of social welfare and public policy, wrote a Project Syndicate article on the debate in Germany about the nation’s place in a changing geopolitical landscape. The decision to furnish Ukraine with powerful tanks in its war with Russia is part of a broader national reorientation that would make Germany one of Europe’s largest military powers — yet German society remains basically pacifist. Many citizens are grappling with how to uphold the values they hold dear while becoming more assertive on the international stage. Some good can come from a divided society if a country’s leaders can provide pragmatic fresh thinking, Anheier writes. “Some tensions are good for society, because they can provide the impetus for innovation and progress. But for that to happen, political leaders need to understand the nature of the problem and offer a clear and coherent vision for ameliorating it.”

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