WHAT ABOUT DEMOCRACY? Empowering citizens or letting us down?

Democracy literally means “rule by the people” – a system designed to safeguard our collective voice through the creation of laws and institutions. But today, many democratic systems are struggling to respond adequately respond to the wicked problems the world faces, including climate change. Young people, in particular, are losing faith.

In this episode, James and Daisy speak about democracy. Why does it matter? Do democratic systems empower us tackle climate change – or slow us down? How might we strengthen democracy?

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Economist Intelligence Unit (2024) – Only 45% of the world’s population lives in a democracy, 39% under authoritarian rule, and 15% in “hybrid regimes” that combine electoral democracy with authoritarian tendencies.
• Centre for the Future of Democracy – Globally, millennials are most dissatisfied with democracy, and more so than previous generations at the same stage of life. Furthermore, young people are most positive about democracy under populist leaders of both left and right.
• Climate Citizens – A project run out of Lancaster University that wants to transform climate policy from something that happens to people, to something that happens with people.
• Climate Assembly UK – Over 100+ people from all walks of life and of all shades of opinion met over six weekends in Spring 2020 to discuss how the UK should meet its net zero target by 2050. They heard balanced evidence on the choices the UK faces, discussed them, and made recommendations about what the UK should do.

OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:

• National Geographic – The word “democracy” comes from two Greek words that mean people (demos) and rule (kratos). The first known democracy was in Athens.
• The Economist (2021) – The Swiss have the most pervasive system of referendums of any country in the world. Referendums are a form of “direct democracy”, in which citizens vote directly on policy questions rather than allowing elected delegates to decide (“representative democracy”).
• The Guardian (2025) – A majority from Europe’s Gen Z – 57% – prefer democracy to any other form of government. Rates of support varied, however, reaching just 48% in Poland and only about 51-52% in Spain and France, with Germany highest at 71%.
• Ipsos (2024) – Just 37% of 18-to-24 year olds voted at last July’s general election, down from 47% in 2019.
• GOV.UK – “Modernisation of UK democracy will see 16- and 17-year-olds able to vote in next general election.”
• CNN (2025) – Leaders of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran gather in Beijing for huge military parade in challenge to the West.
• UK Parliament – First-past-the-post is a type of electoral system. In the UK it is the system used for the election of MPs to the House of Commons and for some local government elections.
• UK Parliament – Proportional representation is an electoral system in which the distribution of seats corresponds closely with the proportion of the total votes cast for each party, e.g., if a party gained 40% of the total votes, a perfectly proportional system would allow them to gain 40% of the seats.

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Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3

Producer: Podshop Studios

Huge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.

Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.