Democracy beyond voting and protests

By creating more opportunities to engage in civic and political life, we can strengthen trust in our institutions and stem the tide of extremism.

Today, though, engagement happens in fits and starts related to political campaigns and policies, such as Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign or the Tea Party movement that emerged to oppose him. After mass shootings, protests in favour of gun-control laws increase, but after a short while, the National Rifle Association exploits fears of government overreach to encourage engagement in the other direction. Achieving genuine engagement, rather than reacting to issues that are presented by politicians or circumstances, requires new institutions that overcome the barriers to frequent and effective civic participation and community-driven change.

While the Western world suffers from over-individualisation, the most notable governance and economic innovations are taking place in the Global South. In Rwanda, for example, the government has introduced policies to encourage grassroots solutions that strengthen citizens’ sense of community and shared accountability. Through monthly community-service meetings, families and individuals work together to build homes for the needy, fix roads, and pool funds to invest in better farming practices and equipment.

Imagine if over 300 million Americans convened every month for a similar purpose. There would suddenly be billions more citizen hours invested in neighbor-to-neighbor interaction and citizen action.

This was one of the main effects of the Village Savings and Loan Associations that originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Within communities, members have access to loans to start small businesses and save for a rainy day. The model works because it leverages neighbor-to-neighbor accountability. Likewise, from Haiti to Liberia to Burundi and beyond, community-based health systems have proven effective precisely because health workers know their neighbors and their needs. Community health workers go from home to home, checking in on pregnant mothers and making sure they are cared for. Each of these solutions uses and strengthens communal accountability through shared engagement – not traditional vertical accountability lines.

If we believe in the democratic principle that governments must be accountable to citizens, we should build systems that hold us accountable to each other – and we must engage beyond elections and protests. We must usher in a new era of community-driven democracy – power must be decentralised and placed in the hands of families and communities.

When we achieve community-driven democracy, we will engage with one another and with our governments – not just on special occasions, but continuously, because our democracy and freedom depend on us.

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Sasha Fisher, an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow, is the founder of Spark MicroGrants. 

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.