Democracy in Israel and in virtually all democratic countries is in deep hot water. Public trust and belief in democracy have been declining for years, and there is no end in sight.
According to the Varieties of Democracy (V-DEM) project, today out of 179 nations, some 88 are liberal democracies, with separation of powers, an independent judiciary, human rights, individual freedom, rule of law, and checks and balances. Some 91 are autocracies – that is, one person has absolute power.
This is the first time in decades that autocracies outnumber democracies. Democracy is losing ground fast, and it has been happening for years.
In Israel, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the entire cabinet voted on March 22 to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara; the vote was unanimous. Levin refuses to recognize or work with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Yitzhak Amit, who was appointed legally on February 13. Levin says the attorney-general and the Supreme Court have “hijacked democracy.” The assault on democracy has been renewed, while Israel fights a seven-front war and has now taken on Iran.
Why is liberal democracy in decline, with large majorities expressing loss of trust in it? And is there a solution for Israel and the world?
Here, below, is the rather shocking evidence of the decades-long decay of democracy in Israel and abroad, a problem long neglected – and an interview with an expert who proposes a sweeping and imaginative solution.
The decline of liberal democracy in Israel and abroad
In its annual survey, the Israel Democracy Institute reported that in 2024, a majority (54%) of the Jewish public believes that “democratic governance in Israel is under threat.” Trust in the Knesset and in political parties is at rock bottom, lower than for all other institutions.
For the same year, a global democracy index published by V-DEM revealed that Israel “falls out of the liberal democracy category for the first time in 50 years….due to government attacks on the judiciary.”
Globally, a Pew Institute survey found that “satisfaction with democracy” fell sharply from 2021 to 2024; it fell by double digits in six major countries: the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Greece, and South Korea. In 2024, only 31% of Americans were satisfied. Across 31 nations, 54% say they are dissatisfied with democracy. In none of 12 economically advanced democracies has satisfaction risen.
Technology to the rescue
I spoke about this sharp decline in democracy with my friend and former Technion student Arie Ruttenberg. He was involved in Israeli election campaigns since 1980, advising three prime ministers: Menachem Begin (1981), Shimon Peres (1984 and 1988), and Yitzhak Rabin (1992). “Israel is waiting for Rabin” was the slogan he invented, which helped elect Rabin. Ruttenberg and I wrote a book together on creativity, Cracking the Creativity Code.
Ruttenberg says, “The feeling that democracy is failing is not new. It existed already in the 1980s. Politicians heard crowds at election rallies scream, ‘Liars! Cheats! Thieves! You promised us things before elections – and the day after, you did nothing on our behalf.’
“The feeling people have of being victimized by politicians continues to this day in every country where democracy exists. People feel that politicians make sky-high promises; the day after they are elected, their promises all are tossed into the garbage. This pattern is repeated again and again, election after election.
“This creates mistrust of democracy. And it leads to autocracy – the idea and the hope that a strong single ruler will act differently.”
“We continue to vote in an exceptionally primitive manner – stuffing slips of paper into ballot boxes, counted by hand, once in four years. And no one seems to realize that in all other aspects of our lives except for democracy, we have made great progress, with innovations and new technologies. Only with regard to the critical issue of democracy are we stuck in the past, with a 2,500-year-old method.
“New, existing technologies can resolve citizens’ emotional feeling, that between elections they are ignored, disregarded, invisible. Citizens need to know their voices can be heard, not just through demonstrations and letters to the editor. Technology can enable their voice to be heard daily – and not only heard but influence politicians’ policies and actions.
“Constant communication between citizens and those who represent them is possible and feasible today. But there is a fundamental problem. This daily communication can greatly complicate running the nation because people have an infinite number of wants, needs, and demands. Technology helps us focus on the most important of those requests.
“And this is where artificial intelligence, AI, plays a role. We have AI tools today at our disposal that enable every citizen to identify themselves with their fingerprints and to communicate and to vote, from their homes and workplaces.
“Every citizen who is in distress can express his needs, feelings, and demands to his elected representatives. But we need to use AI to manage the system.
“AI can aggregate many thousands of messages from citizens, process them, and answer the question ‘What do the people want and need today?’ AI can see and generate the forest from the individual trees. This technology is feasible. It can reveal the people’s most urgent and vital needs to their MKs.
“Liberal democracy gives expression to the most basic of all questions: ‘What do the people want done?’ Not every four years but every single day, every hour. Technology exists that can generate the answers reliably and even measure the degree of urgency of the requests and needs.
“Technology, too, can provide full representative coverage for all the people, not just those who regularly communicate their frustration and pain. A national random sample of the electorate can validate the demands generated by AI-mediated communication. And committees of experts can translate the desires of the people into policies, laws, and actions to respond ethically and according to basic principles.
“I believe that if citizens knew every single day that someone was listening to them, someone who could communicate their frustrations, distress, and needs, and at least in many cases act to resolve them, it could help resolve much of the mistrust and deep anger that people feel toward democracy everywhere. People are no longer invisible. They are seen, they are heard – someone is listening.
“Some of this already exists. Under so-called direct democracy, people vote directly on issues through referendums, and a majority decision is adopted. For example, Switzerland practices a modified form of direct democracy. [See Box: Direct democracy].
“Technology can ensure that each citizen has the right and the ability to influence policies and solutions, not just at elections every four years but daily, between elections. And elections themselves can be implemented using technology, without the need to physically go to polling stations. People can vote from home or work, by phone or by computer, or even from hospital beds. Biometric IDs ensure validity. Those in wheelchairs or the elderly who find it difficult to get to the polls to vote are empowered to vote. Voting turnout rises radically, and the cost of closing workplaces on election day, an immense cost, is no longer necessary.”
THE ROMAN Empire declined and disintegrated largely because of internal political instability, economic problems, and military overspending. The Ottoman Empire fell in part owing to fractious resistance to modernization, falling behind Europe, in addition to bureaucracy and corruption.
The USSR collapsed when its socialist economy failed; economic stagnation and political repression weakened central control and fueled calls for independence among the Soviet nations. The Cold War arms race and competition with the United States strained the Soviet economy and led to crisis.
Much earlier, the kingdoms of Israel and Judea split in 930 BCE, after the death of King Solomon, owing to internal rivalries and jealousies; the split proved disastrous. The kingdom of Israel was weakened by internal conflicts and political instability, making it vulnerable to Assyrian conquest in 722 BCE. The Second Temple fell to Rome, in 70 CE, in large part because of internal divisions and conflicts within Jewish society.
Countries weaken and disintegrate primarily because of internal dissension. Autocratic leaders ignore and oppress their people. Often, they practice divide and conquer, fostering internal dissension rather than trying to heal it. Driven by egos and self-interest, they tend to lead their nations off the cliff.
Defeating external attack demands a unified populace with trust in its leadership. Democracy delivers; autocracy destroys. Great Britain under Winston Churchill, 1940. Israel under David Ben-Gurion, 1948.
Israel is blanketed with huge signs that read “Together, we are victorious.” The problem is, we are not together; we are divided. A key component of the glue, democracy, is systematically being destroyed. On the Left, 94% of Israelis perceive a threat to democracy; even on the Right, 38%. And among Israeli Arabs, 78%.
It is time for some creative thinking, a skill at which Israelis excel. Democracy today has a long white beard. It is time to rejuvenate it. Technology can help.
Can we put our heads together to save democracy and perhaps restore the cohesion that has always enabled Israelis to endure and prevail?■
The writer heads the Zvi Griliches Research Data Center at S. Neaman Institute, Technion. He blogs at www.timnovate.wordpress.com.