IDEAS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE

Political systems can have three types of legitimacy: input, throughput and output legitimacy. Input legitimacy is dependent on the ability of citizens to participate in political processes and to have ownership over the outcomes. Throughput legitimacy is built on the transparency and efficiency of the policymaking process. Output legitimacy, in turn, depends on the specific results, be they economic or social, that a system is capable of delivering. They are all important, but I would argue that a lot of our public debate is today focused on output legitimacy.

Are democracies capable of delivering long-term economic growth or are they beholden to short-term thinking because of the nature of their electoral cycles? Can democratic and open societies deal with health crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, while at the same time respecting their core values and principles? Isn’t it the case that authoritarian states are better at deploying emerging technologies such as AI for their benefit and that of their citizens? These are questions that citizens around the world are asking themselves.

The case of China is particularly relevant in this debate. China’s rise is an extraordinary feat. And one that is built on the back of a non-democratic political system. One could argue that the Chinese system lacks almost all input and throughput legitimacy. It is entirely reliant on output legitimacy. The system is good because it produces certain levels of social stability and economic growth. So, the fact that it might be attractive to others, or to put it differently, the fact that China’s rise has truly global systemic implications is a consequence of the fact that it shifts the legitimacy debate and builds an alternative to the predominant view that democracies are the only system capable of truly tending to peoples’ needs.

All of the above points to a fundamental issue: the future of democracy globally will to a large extent be dependent on its ability to continue to deliver results. And whether it will or not will itself be a product of the capacity of democracies to use emerging technologies in an effective way and without renouncing their core values. Effective governance in the 21^st century will depend on having access to GovTech tools. These can provide transparency and fight corruption. Or they can help make public services more widely accessible or less costly. Additionally, emerging technologies can help underpin democratic processes, as well as protect our public debate space by fighting disinformation. In essence, technology, when well governed can help foster democracy.

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