What comes after the year of elections?

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Half of the world’s population is voting in elections this year, and yet democracy now seems even weaker. The US election last week was devastating for many of us. But I feel hopeful for democracy again, if we step back from individual elections and take a broader view. I’m writing to share some inspiration and opportunities to take action.

A map of the over 80 countries holding national or international elections in 2024.

First, we need to acknowledge a big problem: We’re doing democracy wrong. Democracy has become synonymous with elections, and we’re investing ever more energy and money in elections, at the expense of deeper engagement. Americans spent $16 BILLION on the federal election campaigns. US-style campaigning is spreading, but pouring all our money into sporadic elections is not a winning strategy. Elections are increasingly delivering leaders with authoritarian tendencies and citizens with deep frustrations. 

People want big systemic change. The common thread across the 2024 elections around the world is that incumbents lost. Each election, we’re disappointed by the ruling party, so we vote for change. Then, in the next election, the cycle repeats. We never get the change we want, because the problem is deeper: elections alone are inadequate to deliver government by the people. Most people don’t think that this system of democracy is working, and they want more power over decisions that affect their lives. If pro-democracy movements don't offer it, anti-democracy forces will keep taking advantage of this discontent.

The challenges may seem daunting, but there are clear paths forward. Thousands of governments and organizations around the world are taking democracy to the next level, by engaging people in deciding public spending, laws, and policies. They’re expanding practices like participatory budgeting, citizens’ assemblies, and digital democracy. And they’re connecting these programs together into stronger ecosystems of democracy (See my white paper From Waves to Ecosystems for details). 

People Powered and our members are leading this renewal of democracy. Our 200 member organizations and advocates are working around the world to expand people’s power to make government decisions, even in politically closed contexts. They’re running participatory policy-making and legislative theater in Zimbabwe, large-scale participatory budgeting in China, and youth participation in Hungary. A participation strategy has also helped pro-democracy political candidates build power and win elections.

Our new video shows how the Green Institute, one of People Powered’s Zimbabwe members, is using participatory policymaking to address the climate crisis. 

But this work is hard, and that’s why People Powered exists. We serve as a global union for participatory democracy workers. Our members are the organizations, civil servants, and advocates that are building democracy beyond elections around the world. We bring them together to help them succeed and have more impact. We’re building the global resources and support programs that advocates need to transition to a more participatory democracy. 

Do you want to be part of this democratic change? There are many ways to get involved:

We’re a people powered organization building people powered government, and we can only do that in collaboration with you. Will you take action now?