Let the Nation-State Die So That Democracy May Thrive
Self-Governance Is Growing Locally as National Elections Are Foundering—And That’s a Good Thing
Democracy is not in decline. The nation-state is.
Making that distinction—between democracy and the nation—is crucial to understanding what’s really going on when it comes to self-government on this planet.
It’s a distinction we rarely make. When people around the world talk about how democracy is doing, we talk about democracy almost exclusively at the national level.
We see this every year, when think tanks and NGOs issue reports and rankings on the state of democracy—that consider the national governments only.
Take International IDEA, a Sweden-based intergovernmental organization that supports elections and democracy worldwide. …
