Elites abuse power to reduce accountability mechanisms and enable corruption that weakens democratic institutions. Challenges to democracy: Foreign and domesticīecause democratic processes determine who has power, domestic and foreign actors attempt to manipulate political systems to their advantage.ĭomestic challenges to democracy emanate from within and outside government. There are four key ways the Biden administration can help make developing and even some established democracies more resilient to the internal and external challenges they face. The same goes for governance focused on delivering for citizens. No matter the Biden administration’s democracy agenda priorities, more resilient political systems will be essential to accomplishing them. This staying power increases the durability of democracy and makes it a more attractive governing model than authoritarianism. They must also have the capacity to deal with and adapt in the face of fundamental challenges - from within and outside their borders - while also fulfilling basic functions of representation.
External challenges can include global economic crises, pandemics, or foreign attempts to influence a country’s political system.Īs we have seen with COVID-19, democracies must do more than channel citizens’ views into policy. Domestic challenges can include violence around contested elections, attempted coups or insurrections, and incumbent abuses of power. One such guiding principle should be bolstering the “resilience” of democratic systems - that is, helping to make them better able to effectively deal with, recover from, and innovate following domestic and foreign challenges.