Institutions need fixing to restore young people's faith in democracy

A crisis of democracy has been brewing for a while. In this summer of discontent, we have seen the cup running over in the form of protests, whether in New Delhi, Paris, Belgrade or London, often marked by violence by security forces as well as rioters. While the politics for such dissent is as varied as their geographies, one common feature stands out: anxiety and fear among young people in these countries of facing a shaky future and of being 'left behind'. This is a serious symptom of loss of faith in institutions.

Political scientist Anton Jager describes hyperpolitics as a mismatch between the warp speed and efficiencies of technological change and the deliberate slowness that is essential for democratic legitimacy. Today's citizen is the ultimate consumer, forever in the marketplace, seeking the best option to realise aspirations, a quest made ostensibly easier by extreme tech efficiency. The deliberative 'slowness' of democracy marked by differences, engagement, negotiations and compromise - an architecture of friction by design - is to this citizen a bug akin to buffering. Outfits like Cockroach Janta Party emerge and re-emerge offering a fix that bypasses democratic gridlock. With its reliance on 'street justice', hyperpolitics creates an illusion of political power, giving citizens a sense of political achievement without the structures and institutions that facilitate long-term change.

Technology will not slow down for democracy. Neither should democracy be made fast food. It's for governments to show that democracy is fit for purpose by narrowing the expectation gap, delivering public goods efficiently, demonstrating responsiveness, and reengineering spaces for deliberation. Social contracts must be freshly inked.