Repression and resilience: Diagnosing closing space mid-pandemic

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32 REPRESSION AND RESILIENCE: DIAGNOSING CLOSING SPACE MID-PANDEMIC will have been expanded, providing autocrats with an expanded toolbox for repression. By rebuilding a problematic status quo for women, minorities and disadvantaged populations, the post-pandemic order will continue to systematically exclude certain populations from decision-making, reinforcing an unequal socioeconomic system. For other countries, the pandemic may be the stepping stone for a whole new era of autocratisation. As global outbursts will continue to trigger periods of restrictions, states of emergency and restrictions will eventually become the norm in some countries. The increased police violence and militarisation legitimated by the pandemic, will remain in place to enforce the lockdowns and other restrictive measures, and ultimately police democratic space. Restrictions to fundamental freedoms that were unimaginable before will become the go-to solution for ruling parties facing a challenge to their authority. But some countries will build back better, driven by a new widespread appreciation of fundamental freedoms and rights following extended lockdowns. Heeding calls from civil society to make decision-making more inclusive and accountable, local and national governments may seize the opportunities of their own digitalisation, to adopt more transparent procedures and methods for citizen participation. By placing those most affected by the pandemic at the decision-making table, national socio-economic recovery plans will go beyond band-aids, to redress the systemic inequalities in public policies, ranging from health care insurance to economic stimuli. As governments demonstrate their ability to tackle tremendous challenges quickly, their increased legitimacy and trust from citizens will boost their confidence and willingness to take on other complex issues such as inequality and climate change. ‘Building back better’ would then mean building an inclusive space for political competition and cooperation, ultimately expanding democratic space.
REPRESSION AND RESILIENCE: DIAGNOSING CLOSING SPACE MID-PANDEMIC 33 Recommendations While it is popular for governments to speak of their plans to ‘build back better’, current events don’t necessarily point in that direction. 121 Over a year into the pandemic, there are few signs of the kind of radical reform that ‘building back better’ for democratic space requires. It is likely that most countries will reinforce a problematic status quo, or even further erode the foundations of democratic space. This means that those defending democratic space - civil society, media, independent judiciaries, and political opposition - will face more resistance and repression than before, while trying to stay afloat amid a global economic crisis. Building back better will also mean different things in different countries. Not all countries were equally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in many countries pre-existing political constellations and dynamics in democratic space defined the impact of the pandemic measures on democratic space. In some countries, the question will not even be about building back better, but fighting the government’s refusal to build back and open up. With such tough times ahead, international support will be of the essence to support the continued activism and security of these changemakers. It is not too late to truly build back better and emerge from the pandemic with more space for democratic contestation and cooperation. EU Member States, the EU institutions and Delegations can play a pivotal role in this process, by supporting local actors and using their own political and financial tools to defend and expand democratic space in the pandemic’s aftermath. With a country- and context-specific approach, donors should build on their previous cooperation plans and strategies and adapt them to meet the challenges that were heightened by the pandemic. This will only be credible if they also build back better at home. If the international community was stuck in its efforts to counter closing space before the pandemic, 122 policy-makers and donors are facing even more dire circumstances today. The benefits of the additional funding made available for the pandemic recovery will only be reaped if a holistic approach is taken that places democratic space front and center of the pandemic response. To this end, we make 8 main recommendations to defend democratic space in the pandemic recovery response.
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