Article by Daniel Sachs: “Most commentaries on democratic erosion focus on the supply side of the equation – the strongmen and new doctrines, blocs, or geopolitical arrangements disrupting domestic politics and the rules-based international order. While important, this perspective ignores the demand that is driving current political trends.
…Proliferating wars and shaky alliances are hallmarks of today’s brutal new political reality, one that would have been unimaginable a decade ago. But the geopolitical rupture currently underway is no accident of history, nor is it simply the result of strongmen, weak institutions, or a sudden loss of restraint. It mirrors something more fundamental: the social soil of our societies. Politics does not occur in a vacuum. It grows out of lived experience, reflecting whether people feel secure, respected, and optimistic about a shared future…(More)”.