Today’s generations living together in the polis benefit from an extraordinary tool, namely technology. It allows citizens unique historical access to the way politicians take on political promises, but also to the general way the “city” is run.
Equally, we cannot ignore the benefits of technology for politicians, policymakers, and strategists. They can send instant messages expressing their views and intentions and influencing a considerable number of people. Normally, these elements can add to the transparency of the administration’s decisions, but also facilitate communication between the administration and citizens (both ways). Furthermore, informed participation represents a key signal for the health of a democratic society. Political literacy must be encouraged starting from family and school, although some could point towards certain factions that would embrace a less politically educated society that can be easily manipulated. Overall, self-education should be sacrosanct in this era of digitalization and the duty of each citizen.
Unfortunately, we can see a decline in citizens’ trust in the political class (of course in democracies), and this creates a vicious circle. One could argue that part of the blame lies with the poor economic conditions present at the level of different social strata in different societies, and this may contribute to the political alienation of a significant percentage of voters, who will simply ignore the electoral processes in their respective geographical areas. Economic problems lead to distrust, and this can lead to the weakening of the system of democratic institutions. Moreover, in the complex international context of this period, the weakening of democratic societies is the most precious gift for states governed by an authoritarian or even totalitarian formula.
In such a situation, there is a clear need for refreshment at the level of genuine leadership. It can provide the balance and solutions to the problems mentioned above. The most important issue is building trust in institutions, perhaps this will be the battle that democracies will have to win. Without this, cracks will appear in societies, from where dark echoes and political traps may emerge. Earlier, I pointed out the need for political literacy, but in the case of future political actors that could act as relevant leaders is the job of the political factions to properly identify them, and perhaps, to a certain extent, the consultants might also have a role in this process.
In the next part, I will dive deeper into the realm of ideas meant to enforce institutional trust.