Scott Detrow, host:
On today’s show, we look back at this extraordinary year that saw elections held in dozens of countries around the world. At the beginning of the program, we spoke to our correspondents from Asia, Africa, and Latin America about the elections they covered in their respective regions. We’ve heard reports about how unpopular incumbents and government agencies are today, the role of artificial intelligence in politics, and more. We’ll put things together in a broader perspective and look at what these elections can tell us about the state of democracy as a form of government. The first person to talk about this will be Frank Langfitt, a longtime NPR correspondent who has reported all over the world. Hi, Frank.
FRANK LANGFITT, SIGNED: Hi, Scott.
DETROW: You’ve been looking at our big picture all year. Overall, how do you think the election went?
LANGFITT: Well, it was a mix. That is, many elections were free and fair. The majority of losers, Scott – they rightfully resigned. That said, democracy as we know historically has been seen as in decline around the world for more than 15 years, and by some estimates only about half of this year’s elections It took place in a free and free country. impartial. Russia and Iran come to mind.
DETROW: Yeah.
LANGFITT: Of course, China, the world’s second most populous nation, has no national elections at all.
DETROW: Frank, I want to talk a little bit about geopolitics. There’s a big disconnect, at least in the United States, between the big picture things that leaders like President Biden are focusing on, which is countering Russia and Ukraine. Because it seems like it is. , things like that, and what voters feel they care about most. You’ve reported on a lot of democracies that are caught in the middle of these big power struggles. So I’m wondering, have you seen any of this larger geopolitics, like the US versus Russia, where the US is trying to counter Beijing? Have you seen it impact the real concerns of voters?
LANGFITT: In certain places, yes. And I think these are often places we don’t pay much attention to, but I think we should. Obviously we’re talking about Taiwan now. Earlier this year, Taiwanese voters rejected the threat from mainland China and supported an incumbent party that is very friendly to the United States.
Take Moldova. In fact, they voted this year to lean toward Europe and the United States or toward Russia on this very issue. And Moldova, as people may remember, is a former Soviet republic. It is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania. Then there was a referendum on whether to enshrine membership in the European Union in the constitution, and that referendum turned really ugly.
Moldovan prosecutors allege that Russia supported a multimillion-dollar vote-buying scheme to crush the referendum. There were pro-Russian oligarchs. He offered – Scott, he offered $270 to anyone who could cast a constituency vote against the EU. And he did this publicly.
DETROW: Yeah.
LANGFITT: I don’t disagree with that. Now, that referendum, Scott, passed by a narrow margin, which was a shock because people expected it to pass by more. Now, Scott, this sounds counterintuitive, but in some ways this was a good thing for Russia. Because it shows that Moldova is more divided than people thought. It will also help Russia, since Russia wants to bring Moldova into its sphere of influence.
DETROW: Let’s talk a little bit about South Korea. Of course, there was no presidential election this year, but in recent weeks we have seen President Yoon Seok-yeol declare martial law, quickly rescind the declaration, and be impeached. South Korea has long been considered a stable democracy and even hosted the World Summit for Democracy this year. In other words…
Langfitt: Yes.
DETROW: …How do analysts determine what happened there?
LANGFITT: Well, I think the bad news is that the president thought he could just declare martial law. The good news is he didn’t.
DETROW: Yeah.
LANGFITT: Democratic institutions have held up, but when you look at many of these countries, and I think this is the most important thing, how are democratic institutions doing? Presidents end up supporting their own party. The question now is what will happen next for South Korea. I was talking to Nicole Bivins Sedaka. She is the interim director of Freedom House. They’re – it’s a democracy think tank here in D.C. And her question is, will the opposition follow the rule of law or will they seek retribution and punish the president’s party? This is her concern.
Nicole Bivins Sedaka: When a political party or individual does something undemocratic, there’s always a temptation to say, “Well, they did it, so it’s okay for us to do it too.” It’s a temptation we all must resist. Because that is what erodes and destroys our democracy.
DETROW: Frank, I’d like to end with another country that didn’t vote this year, but has a lot of global questions. And that is Israel. This country has been in a full-scale war for 15 months. It was in this context that you reported on the current state of democracy in Israel. Please tell me about it.
LANGFITT: Yeah, well, the last time I was there was last December, so it’s been a year and a lot has happened, of course, Scott. As you know, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets last year to fight something called judicial reform. Now, you know, this is a dry bill, but many opponents thought it would actually weaken the Supreme Court as an independent check on executive power. And after the war broke out on October 7, I was actually in Congress and spoke to the chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. He said this judicial reform is currently dysfunctional. Just this week, Israel’s justice minister said he wants to reinstate judicial reform.
DETROW: What’s changed?
LANGFITT: The war and its fate – Hamas is in a very bad state. Hezbollah is forced into a ceasefire and Assad is out in Syria. This puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a stronger position. I was talking to a guy named Reuven Hazan. He is a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. And he says it’s very difficult to know exactly whether Prime Minister Netanyahu will really pursue this judicial reform again. But Hazan says if he did, his opponent wouldn’t have the energy to fight it.
Reuben Hazan: The Israeli people are basically exhausted. Given what we have experienced, it is almost impossible to get people back into the streets and focus on domestic democratic issues.
LANGFITT: So, Scott, as you know, a great year of elections is coming to an end, but questions about democracy around the world persist. And of course Israel is just one of the countries that will be on everyone’s radar next year.
DETROW: Yeah, that’s NPR’s Frank Langfitt. Frank, thank you for taking a step back and helping me understand all of this.
LANGFITT: I’d be happy to do it, Scott.
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