The war in Ukraine hasn’t concluded as of this writing, and victory for either side has yet to be determined. But regardless of how this tragedy turns out, to the surprise of many people worldwide, the bulk of Russia’s ground-based military was stopped in its tracks.
Who would have thought the people and army of this small democratic-leaning nation could stand in the way of the vaunted army of an authoritarian regime like Russia?

The Authoritarian Advantage

It’s easy to assume that a totalitarian government can accomplish whatever it wants, given the nearly absolute power maintained by its singular leader and surrounding advisors. After all, these leaders have the benefit of:

• No viable opposing political parties.
• No legitimate debate on options within the executive branch.
• No, truly independent, empowered, non-executive branches of government.

In contrast, democratic governments are messy and inefficient. Their executive leaders face:

• Competing political factions and intense politicking.
• Aggressive media watchdogs.
• Free speech and enough diverse media and communication channels to meet and reinforce the mindset of any citizen.
• Checks and balances between branches of governments and levels of governments (e.g., state vs. federal).

One would wonder how anything of substance ever gets done in a democratic, representative government in the normal course of business.

Shades of Gray

With the caveat that there are many kinds of democracy (direct, representative, etc.) and variations with regard to autocratic systems, the two approaches lie on opposite ends of a governance spectrum.

In 2020, The Democracy Index, sponsored and compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, graded 167 countries based on 60 different indicators, assigning each one a ranking between 1 (strongly authoritarian) and 10 (strongly democratic).

The top five scores went to Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Finland. Many Western European countries ranked quite high with 8’s and 9’s.
The U.S. had a score of 7.92, ranking 22nd in the world, which placed it in the second-highest tier, labeled as a “Flawed Democracy.” At the other extreme, 57 countries found themselves in the bottom tier, “Authoritarian Regime,” anchored by North Korea, with a score of 1.08. China was 17th from the bottom with a score of 2.27, and Russia was 44th from the bottom scoring 3.31.

One can quibble with the criteria and relative scoring, but the principle is certainly true that there’s a continuum, a democracy scale when it comes to democracy and authoritarianism.

Moving the Needle on the Democracy Scale

It’s human nature to want what you can’t have – that’s true for people in authoritarian countries as well as in democratic countries. It’s just that in the two situations, the goals and dreams are quite different. The collective effort to attain those goals and dreams ultimately propels countries to move along that democracy scale.

The movements stem from citizen exposure to ideas and an empowerment to express those ideas – in all types of countries. As I’ll explain further below, the enhancement of those communication opportunities can have a different and even opposite effect when it comes to moving the needle, depending on whether the country is a 7.92 (U.S.) or a 2.27 (Russia) on the democracy scale.

In autocratic countries, citizens increasingly want more choices in their lives along with access to economic and cultural pleasures. Dictators used to be able to keep this in check with a “What they don’t know, they won’t know they want…” approach. These citizens increasingly want a real say in government policies at all levels and the right to express those viewpoints. And as they strive for better lives and access to governance, they’re moving their countries UP the democracy scale. Greater access to a variety of communication technologies, including social media, is helping to make that happen.

In democratic countries, citizens, for the most part, already have the freedom to make choices regarding lifestyles. They enjoy representative-democratic governments that funnel their views up and into the decision-making system. With those fundamental rights in hand, what do these people want more of these days? They want “Their Side” to win and their policies to prevail. As they strive for this dominance, they’re moving their countries DOWN the democracy scale toward a more autocratic, less tolerant situation. Greater access to a variety of communication technologies, including social media, is helping to make that happen.