The report of the Democracy Commission : engaging citizens : the case for democratic renewal in Ireland

government, all parties in Northern Ireland and all civic actors there to focus their minds on a resolution of the current impasse in the spirit of the Belfast agreement and its various Irish, British and European contexts.Any resolution needs to promote genuine reciprocity between Protestant and Catholic.In particular we believe, taking our cue from the IDEA standard of democratic assessment, that the twin principles of equality and accountability are essential to the well being of democracy on the entire island of Ireland.For its part, the Commission suggests that, in advance of further rounds of political negotiation, the parties and interested civic actors in Northern Ireland should get around a table to discuss 'the establishment over time of a normal, civic society, in which all individuals are considered as equals, where differences are resolved through dialogue in the public sphere and where all people are treated impartially', as outlined in the recent policy document A Shared Future by the Northern Ireland Office.Such a forum could be convened by a neutral broker and could ease public concerns that MLAs continue to be paid in the absence of the assembly, as well as lending a sense of direction amid the current worrying drift.Ideally, as a consequence of this forum the parties would then themselves be able to present to the Governments a position over which they had ownership, and which commanded civic endorsement, as to the way in which democratic structures in Northern Ireland can be stably re-established.Internationally, the United States is pursuing a foreign relations policy of trying to impose democracy by force in Iraq, itself an antidemocratic action.This has provoked an effort to subvert democracy by Islamist terrorists who, presumably, hope to provoke restrictions on human rights and an even harsher security response.This cycle of violence is approaching Samuel Huntington's sphere of "A Clash of Civilizations".The draft European Union constitution has been derailed by a strong and well informed vote by the people of France and the Netherlands.Writing in the Financial Times on 26 July, 2005 Mikhail Gorbachev opined that Europe is now in crisis due to the arrogance of its political elites who he blames for isolating themselves from the people: "The EU crises could destablise political systems in Europe.After all, democracy -government reflecting the will of the people -is The Report of the Democracy Commission: The Case for Democratic Renewal in Ireland xDemocratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page x Engaging Citizens: Foreword Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page xi changed class perceptions.From the 1960s onwards, increasing prosperity affected social mobility increasing the size of the middle class.People became more consumer orientated, less interested in social solidarity and more conscious of the burden of taxation.The emergence of Ronald Reagan in the United States, Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Roger Douglas in New Zealand together shifted the balance of the post war settlement at least in the Anglo-Saxon world, of which Ireland is a part.But in reality they were the logical outcome of a trend already evident.The collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist regimes of Eastern Europe appeared to reinforce liberal capitalism as the one true faith.This conclusion is, of course, hotly contested by Social Democrats and there is now a serious ideological battle for the soul of Europe between free market Liberals and Social Democrats.So, while people often say that there are no ideological differences anymore it is not quite true.The picture is confused, of course, in a European context by the fact that the leading protagonists appear to be in a role reversal.Tony Blair, nominally a Socialist, is the champion of free markets while Jacques Chirac, from the centre right, is fighting the battle for Social Europe.As a personal observation I would say that the Anglo-Saxon free market model has shown itself better at creating wealth but has failed to stem the rise in inequality both in the developed and the developing world.The fact that the Commission did not get into this territory does not mean that we did not appreciate the importance of it.Indeed, we do from time to time in the report comment on the mistaken perception that politics is only about marginalism.We realise that the citizen will not be engaged unless he/she believes in something.This is where political leadership comes in.It is assumed that disillusionment is experienced only by the electorate.Perhaps the most unexpected outcome of our enquiry is the extent of disillusionment among politicians.Voters see -because the media shows them -that our politicians are full time professionals but most of them can do very little that directly impacts on the lives of voters.They also endure trivialising of their efforts by media.Much of their power has gone to Brussels or to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.Judges circumscribe the limit of public inquiry they can make.The increasing centralisation of responsibility for services The Report of the Democracy Commission: The Case for Democratic Renewal in Ireland xii Democratic Renewal a/w 3/10/05 5:01 pm Page xii T his project drew on the input of numerous people and organisations.First and foremost our profound thanks goes to all the citizens

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