Reclaiming Democracy

Coming from the United Kingdom, I witnessed first hand the disaster that can strike when people are invited to comment on the future of their countries too late. The European Constitutional Treaty failed because there was not enough transparency and the people did not feel in charge of the decisions that were being made by government officials in Brussels. When the time came to finally have their say, the French and Dutch wanted to demonstrate their frustration at being left out of the political process and did this by refusing to ratify the Constitution and giving the European leaders a stark warning: the European dream must involve its citizens.

However, this is not just a European problem and it is clear that the United States is also at crossroads. Americans will need to decide whether to continue to be politically passive or to rise up and defend democracy. Lewis Lapham's book, 'Gag Rule' explains the way that democracy is being stifled and calls us to challenge the government and reinstate the media as the fourth estate.

Young people are often quoted as feeling alienated by both politics and democratic values. Low voter turnout rates for young people are regularly produced to criticize the unwillingness of young people to get involved in politics and to demonstrate the despair that we should be feeling about the future of democracy. I am however not in agreement with these sweeping statements. Having just completed a course on American Media and Politics at the University of Washington, I was delighted to see the passion amongst young Americans to reclaim their political institutions and play a role in the future of democracy.

There has been a renewed demand to get answers from the government in recent years and the media is being asked to provide a new version of Jürgen Habermas' notion of a public sphere, to which all people have equal access. Both traditional and new digital media must accept this important role within contemporary society; that of providing non-biased information and allowing a place for citizens to criticize, debate and argue. The new mediated public sphere allows citizens to more widely voice their opinions, and hence can play an essential role in strengthening our democratic values. The majority of people embracing these new technologies are young people who are finally seeing a way to have their voices heard.

There are numerous examples of situations which demonstrate that today's young people are interested in making their opinions count and are waiting for the opportunity to unite and fight for a say in democracy. It is time that the elites and politicians took note of the voices of the future and realize the youth are determined to vie for their attention.

The 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle was greeted by thousands of people, who took to the streets to show their disappointment that the advance of globalization is resulting in the demise of democracy. Furthermore, with the increasing possibilities in the mediated public sphere, young people can move from the passive world of the past into a new active role in the future of democracy. Howard Dean's recent presidential campaign is the perfect example of the strength that politics can gain when it reaches out to young people through both innovative use of the Internet and enlisting support from young enthusiasts at the forefront of this amazing, technological development.

Anthony Giddens emphasizes the need for personal politics, which resonate at the individual level and explains that it is increasingly important to ask what is my role in the political process? The Internet complements this individual drive by allowing people to form communities, which can then fight across the boundaries of time and space to make their united - and hence more powerful - voices heard. As demonstrated by WTO and the Dean campaign, we need to realize the power that we have during this contemporary re-definition of democracy and need to make sure that our demands are met, regardless of age or social standing.

While our politicians are on a mission to export democracy throughout the world, it is now at critical point at home: in both Europe and in the United States. Democracy will either fade and disappear or develop and shine brightly as an example for all to follow. We have the power to revive democracy, but what remains to be seen is if we have the will.

Katie Owens is a British exchange student at UW. She is working on a European masters in Contemporary European Studies.