Will democracy survive for another hundred years? People worldwide feel "helpless" as their rights disappear, Prince Harry has warned the UN. But others say freedom will prevail.
Prince Harry: freedom faces 'global assault'
Will democracy survive for another hundred years? People worldwide feel "helpless" as their rights disappear, Prince Harry has warned the UN. But others say freedom will prevail.
In the early months of 2011, a new world was being forged. Across the Arab worldThe part of the world in which Arab culture and the Arabic language are dominant. It is considered to stretch from Morocco in North Africa to Iraq in the Middle East., the people rose up and overthrew dictators who had been repressing them for decades. In their place, they sought to establish democratic systems and the rule of lawThe idea that those who govern and the government itself must be subject to the same laws as everyone else..
By the end of 2012, almost every one of these nascentEmerging or coming into existence. democracies had been crushed. Only Tunisia remains democratic - and a new constitution being put to the vote later this month could send it tumbling back into dictatorship.
Now some think the rest of the world is following the Arab states. In a speech to the United Nations General AssemblyThe General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. All the world's states, and some non-state observers, are represented there. this week, Prince Harry warned the world of a "global assault on democracy and freedom".
In the USA, the 6 January insurrection last year sparked widespread fears for the future of democracy. To many, the decision of the Supreme Court to abolish abortion rights without any democratic consultation seems like confirmation of this.
In Europe, there are also growing restrictions on individual rights. Under a law that came into force in the UK earlier this year, protests can be broken up under the pretext that they are causing disturbance to people around them.
Meanwhile, the global centre of gravity is shifting away from the democratic states and towards autocratic China. And there are signs that China is beginning to undermine western democracies. Earlier this year, MI5 discovered that Chinese agent Christine LeeAn Anglo-Chinese solicitor who was given awards for her efforts in improving relations between Britain and China, until earlier this year, when it was revealed that she was working for the Chinese state. had been working to advance the careers of UK politicians considered friendly to Beijing.
So it is no surprise that some think democracy is likely to be a casualty of the 21st Century.
Democracy is simultaneously very old and very new. The first democracies emerged in ancient Greece. However, they were very different from what we would recognise as a democracy today.
Most people could not vote: only men over a certain age who were not slaves. And they did not elect leaders to make their decisions for them. Instead, all voters would gather together in one assembly and decide everything collectively.
Unsurprisingly, these democratic systems could often be chaotic. Sometimes the people made poor decisions. Democracy came to be synonymousIf two words are synonymous, they have the same meaning. with anarchyA situation in which there are no rulers. The term can be used to describe complete political chaos or mob rule, but those who call themselves anarchists generally believe in mutual aid and cooperation, not a war of all-against-all., and fell out of favour.
So when certain thinkers tried to give power back to the people in the 18th Century, they did not call their new systems "democratic". Instead, they called them "republican" or "representative" systems, and they sought to restrict the amount of power ordinary people actually held. They thought the best kind of government was one run by a small, male elite.
The idea that everyone should have a voice only emerged in the 19th Century, when ordinary people began demanding a say, and governments responded by expanding the franchiseWhen an individual or group is given the right to sell a company's products in return for a fee. Many McDonalds restaurants are franchises. . In most places, women were not allowed to vote until the 20th Century.
So "democracy" as we understand it today is a new and fragile idea. From some historians, there is a stark warning: we should not assume that it will last forever.
<h5 class=" eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Will democracy survive for another 100 years?</strong></h5>
Yes: Everyone wants to live in a society where they have rights, freedoms and a voice. Governments can only resist this pressure for so long. It is too soon to declare the end of democracy.
No: Democracy is a recent invention, one that has proved extremely fragile. With all the crises facing us, it would be easy for people to lose faith in democracy and seek an alternative.
Or... Arguably, we have never lived in an actual democracy. Everything is still run by and for a small elite. Our aim must be to create real democracy, not to preserve the system we have.
Arab world - The part of the world in which Arab culture and the Arabic language are dominant. It is considered to stretch from Morocco in North Africa to Iraq in the Middle East.
Rule of law - The idea that those who govern and the government itself must be subject to the same laws as everyone else.
Nascent - Emerging or coming into existence.
General Assembly - The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. All the world's states, and some non-state observers, are represented there.
Christine Lee - An Anglo-Chinese solicitor who was given awards for her efforts in improving relations between Britain and China, until earlier this year, when it was revealed that she was working for the Chinese state.
Synonymous - If two words are synonymous, they have the same meaning.
Anarchy - A situation in which there are no rulers. The term can be used to describe complete political chaos or mob rule, but those who call themselves anarchists generally believe in mutual aid and cooperation, not a war of all-against-all.
Franchise - When an individual or group is given the right to sell a company's products in return for a fee. Many McDonalds restaurants are franchises.
Prince Harry: freedom faces ‘global assault’

Glossary
Arab world - The part of the world in which Arab culture and the Arabic language are dominant. It is considered to stretch from Morocco in North Africa to Iraq in the Middle East.
Rule of law - The idea that those who govern and the government itself must be subject to the same laws as everyone else.
Nascent - Emerging or coming into existence.
General Assembly - The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. All the world’s states, and some non-state observers, are represented there.
Christine Lee - An Anglo-Chinese solicitor who was given awards for her efforts in improving relations between Britain and China, until earlier this year, when it was revealed that she was working for the Chinese state.
Synonymous - If two words are synonymous, they have the same meaning.
Anarchy - A situation in which there are no rulers. The term can be used to describe complete political chaos or mob rule, but those who call themselves anarchists generally believe in mutual aid and cooperation, not a war of all-against-all.
Franchise - When an individual or group is given the right to sell a company's products in return for a fee. Many McDonalds restaurants are franchises.