From the End of History to the End of the World? A Tale of Unforeseen Global Changes

This chapter takes the fall of the Berlin Wall as its point of departure, and from there it traces a trajectory of unforeseen developments that have led from the erstwhile global optimism to the dramatic shift in mood just three short decades later. The key questions posed are: What global developments that were unforeseen then can account for the much more sombre ambience, pessimism or even alarmism today; and what impact does this have on democracy? The questions are addressed on the assumption that the evolution of democracy in individual countries is determined not only by domestic factors but also by global circumstances. The unforeseen areas discussed include digital revolution; decline of multilateralism and rise of nationalism; migrations; economic inequalities; global balance of power and climate change. The spread of COVID-19, while not a totally unforeseen development, has had implications for the nexus between these global changes and democracy, as briefly discussed in the chapter.