Can Democracy be Done Better?
| Author | Alan Renwick,Michela Palese |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905819854309 |
10 POLITICAL INSIGHT • JUNE 2019
There is widespread disillusionment
with the state of contemporary
political discussion. Two major
events in 2016 – the Brexit
referendum in the UK and the presidential
election in the US – raised concerns to a
new level, leading the Oxford Dictionaries
to declare ‘post-truth’ their ‘word of the year’.
But the problems have deep roots. Public
condence in politicians, journalists, and
social media companies – the main actors
in political discourse – is at rock bottom.
Democracy requires that voters be able to
develop their views freely: without being
subject to undue misinformation, and
with access to reliable information. Yet this
basic democratic requirement often goes
unfullled.
We have therefore investigated what
can be done to ensure high-quality
information and discussion during election
and referendum campaigns. We conducted
detailed research into practices in the UK
and other democracies, focusing on seven
that have adopted particularly innovative
approaches: Germany, the Netherlands,
Can Democracy
be Done Better?
Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia,
and New Zealand. We have thereby
identied three basic ways of addressing the
problem – by confronting misinformation,
promoting quality information, and
promoting quality discussion – each of
which has its own variants. Here we outline
these strategies and argue for an approach
to reform that draws on them all to develop
a new way of thinking about what election
and referendum campaigns are for.
Definitions
Before embarking, we need to clarify what
we mean by ‘high-quality’ information
and discussion. We dene high-quality
information as having four primary
characteristics:
1. Accuracy: Information should be
In a ‘post truth’ age, how can voters get the information they need to
make effective decisions? Alan Renwick and Michela Palese outline
a new approach to political information and discourse that could
strengthen democracy.
Political Insight May 2019.indd 10 08/05/2019 10:55
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