Diversification of democracy

• Power distribution in multilevel government, and the combination of local, regional, national and supranational levels, could be put on the political agenda and its legitimacy enforced or increased.
• Emphasis could be put on collaboration among government, citizens and businesses. 
• Despite an apparent expansion and diversification of democracy, the long-term democratization process has stalled over the past 13 years, with declines in freedom observed in all world regions, reports Freedom House. Freedom in the World 2019 notes that overall, since 2006 -- when the decline began -- 116 countries experienced a net decline, and only 63 have experienced a net improvement. Of the 195 countries assessed in 2018, 86 were rated free, 59 partly free, and 50 (encompassing 37% of the world's population--over 2.8 billion people) not free. | Related Megatrends:​ Inequalities; Geopower
• Despite of signals of re-nationalisation and the rise of authoritarian regimes, the trend towards transnationalisation and multi-actor governance is likely to continue.
• With the evolution of the IoT, wearable computers, autonomous vehicles, and brain-computer interfaces, cyber security will become increasingly important. The potential 'disruptive' use of some new technologies could impact some civil liberties and trigger new policies to minimise risks. 
• India -- the world's largest democracy -- has 600 million youth (50% of the country's 1.25 billion people) under 25 years old; 65% of its population is 35 or younger. Their capacity and needs will have considerable impact on shaping the country's future and poltentially influence world's democracy. | Related Megatrends: Geopower; Education
• Over the past quarter-century across the world, satisfaction with democracy has fallen, and dissatisfaction risen. 2019 represents the highest level of democratic discontent on record since 1995.
• The more democratic governments appear to be failing to address problems of public accountability, raising living standards, economic governance, migration or climate change, the greater the degree to which citizens perceive that their institutions are not delivering results and loosing legitimacy. 
• While in the 1990s, around two-thirds of the citizens of Europe, North America, Northeast Asia and Australasia felt satisfied with democracy in their countries, today a majority feel dissatisfied.
• Almost two-thirds of Asians are satisfied with the performance of democracy in their countries, compared to just two-fifths of individuals elsewhere. 
• High-income democracies as Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, representing at the same time a small minority of individuals, experience high democratic satisfaction all-time. | Related Megatrends:​ Inequalities

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