Democracy and possible influences by media in the digital era
The following is intended as contribution to the discussion on Democracy and Media in the digital era,
by attempting to identify possible threats to democracy and mapping possible influences of media, ‘old’ as well as ‘new’ or digital, against the threats. The threats identified are not orthogonal but are linked and overlap.
It represents solely the opinions of the author, presented in a somewhat structured way.
Threat to democracy | Characterization | Mitigation mechanisms |
Elected dictator | ‘the people’ versus the parliamentary democracy rules | Constitution, guaranteed, effective checks & balances, and an independent judiciary |
Intimidation / civil unrest | ‘public anger’ against politicians & judges | Constitution, early reaction/protection |
Election funding | May shape elections | State funding and/or strict rules |
Corruption | Affects executive, legislative, judiciary branches | Checks, whistle-blowers’ protection |
Populism | Perceived problems with proposed ‘simple solutions’ | Independent fact finding & research |
Party discipline | Party discipline: ethical, legal, constitutional? | Enforcing constitutional rules |
Lobbying | Dependency on information and resources from interested parties | Funded fact finding & research |
‘Decisive vote’ | Overstating and misrepresenting the ‘one vote’ importance | Factual reporting, not sensational |
Threat to democracy | Printed media: Sensation press | Printed media: Serious press | Public Broadcasters *) | Commercial Broadcasters |
‘social media’ |
Elected dictator | Increases risks | Decreases risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
Intimidation / civil unrest | May increase or decrease risks | Decreases risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
Election funding | Increases risks | May increase or decrease risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase risks |
Corruption | May help fight corruption | Decreases risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May decrease risks |
Populism | Increases risks | Decreases risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
Party discipline | Increases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
Lobbying | Increases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
‘Decisive vote’ | Increases risks | Decreases risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks | May increase or decrease risks |
*) Public Broadcasters: here used for organizations that are operating under a framework including
(at least partial) public funding while guaranteeing political and financial independence
e.g. BBC, FR2, ARD, ARTE, etc.