A New Story for European Democracy

Now that Europe can no longer lean on its big American brother, the spotlights have put it into full view. While the first reactions to the new world order from European leaders have been surprisingly positive, there is still a lot that needs to be fixed when it comes to the story of democracy in Europe. Here goes...

Credits: TheMetaPicture.com

Before we start

We have highlighted a similar story for the US in this blogpost addressing the particulars of why America is now not a true democracy and which steps to take in order to fix that. As a result, we have the freedom to really focus on Europe in this post, highlighting its problems and giving the solutions.

One more thing before we dive in: when I use the word Europe I mostly mean the political entity that is Europe as all of its 44 officially registered countries in the UN, which includes the EU with its 27 countries, yet also the other countries who have longstanding trade relations and other binding international agreements with them that are part of the European continent. Both Turkey and Russia have parts of their countries in Europe and others in Asia, so we'll discuss them separately.

Now, let's dive in.

Step One - Communicate properly

Everything about Europe, especially the European Union politics, has been mocked, criticized and ridiculed for decades. The sentiments towards Europe as a political entity has been very negative for a long time. And while I will argue that there is no need to be as negative as we usually are towards Europe, I also believe that the existence of this sentiment is largely their own fault due to this fact:

Europe never communicates properly.

Now, that may not seem like a big deal, since most politicians don't communicate properly. We're kinda used to it. Why put this on the number one spot? Well, that's because the failure to communicate is actually way, way worse than you'd think and has the absolutely worst of consequences.

The elephant in the room here is Brexit. Although to most of us it was obvious that the UK leaving the EU would be absolutely devastating to them, many British people were celebrating it as a huge victory. The sentiment was that they could finally leave something truly evil behind and flourish again. This, as it turns out, was the very worst thing they could do... but is that a failure on their part of on Europe?

I'd argue the latter. Yes, there is blame to be put on the people who supported the Brexit. Yet I'd also argue that it is not the task of the common folk to 'sell' the idea of one united Europe with one united market. That's the responsibility of those who build and maintain such an entity.

We people are emotional animals, whose very emotions were first conveyed in grunts, body stances, eyes and gestures, and later into more complex words, symbols, drawings and other signals, ultimately leading to modern day media communications. In short, emotions are the origin of all communication. And storytelling is the practice of making that communication compelling.

And by systematically refusing to communicate properly over the course of decades about laws, treaties and regulations that effect the very people you wish to serve - in essence failing to make an emotional connection - you ultimately shoot yourself in the foot.

And even though it was completely ridiculous (there was a conspiracy theory going around that said the EU were trying to abolish the 'curve' of bananas...) by never really stepping into the limelight and communicating properly, you just invite sentiments such as Brexit, however stupid they may be. In fact, this failure to adhere to storytelling principles and a basic level of good-enough communication may be the core - even the sole - reason why the EU is always in danger of being dissolved.

Step Two - Acknowledge our bloody origins

Closely related to the first step is the failure of Europe to explain why we are so closely bound together, all 44 of us; the origin of millennia of war and hardship. We are a unique part of the world since no other part of this globe has such a coming-together of so many vastly different cultures, religions and walks of life. This is wonderful when you think of it. Yet equally terrible when it goes wrong.

As a result, we have a very paradoxical history. On the one hand, we have this constant intermixing of new ideas on society and culture coming from everywhere on the European continent, and even stretching into the great strides that the Middle-East and Asia has made in the past, who are equally situated at important junctions of human activity and life. On the other hand, this also means we clash with these cultures on a regular basis.

These days, the clashes are more rare. Yes, they still occur yet in no way comparable to how it was in the past. This is in large part due to the mother of all wars - World War II - playing out on our continent. War is always hell. But the fresh hell we had invited here, with all of its systematic, 'regulated' ways of killing millions of people, was the worst we had ever done. The memory of this war and everything tied to it is edged into our very DNA and the fiber of our continent.

It is the core reason why Europeans are way, way more united than we look.

Yet, you never really hear much about it in the communications coming from Europe, if anything at all. That means that the very reason it exists is never talked about. The subject seems to be actively avoided, which is the worst thing one can do. Avoiding friction in your storytelling runs you the risk of being completely forgotten, since memory in the brain only gets 'switched on' if it recognizes conflict or friction.

Step Three - Stop relying on America

Even our very modern-day relationship with America (or what's left of it) has its origins in that bloody bit of history. The US didn't want to step in, they didn't want to go to war. But it became increasingly clear that the wave of fascism would be so great, it would eventually reach their coasts too, from both sides with Japan weighing in at Pearl Harbor. The relationship that followed between Europe and the USA as fore-fighters of freedom has done us and the world a lot of good (although obviously not always). However, it has made Europe arguably complacent as well.

What it has also done is put the US on a pedestal: American culture has increasingly become mainstream in Europe over the decades. Now however that the American Dream is looking a bit like a fairy tale, we are increasingly aware that Americans have been telling themselves a story about a society that doesn't exist. In truth, American society does not take good care of itself, as it is (at the time of writing) imploding over its own health-care failures, over-consumption and

Step Four - Make the Bureaucracy Helpful

The bureaucracy associated with Europe is a reflection of what Europe itself is: a mishmash of countless cultural influences and practices, that never truly gets a clear line. It is in many ways, a series of ant colonies that constantly intermix and intertwine without having one colony ever becoming dominant. As such, it is actually quite a beautiful reflection of the human race and what it can become if left without too much interference from hierarchies. However, without clear goals and directions, it can also get convoluted and prone to corruption.

A main reason why the bureaucracy turns against the interests of the people is that the focus is too much on process and not enough on its end goals. Yet again, it is a matter of storytelling. Vastly different groups of people can still get behind the right message or vision, even if their differences seem insurmountable. It just has to be strong enough to inspire and even more importantly, it has to contain clear priorities. Processes become secondary, can even become helpful, if the goal is clear.

Another key ingredient is trust in the agency of the people. Brussels and Strasbourg know so many rules, so many regulations, and even so many unwritten behaviors, that it takes away incentive from the workers. In many ways, the story of distrust that Europe has become, is reflected in the workings of its institutions. Not that there is so much distrust that it falls apart. But there is just enough of it to spark an overflow of rules, and not even agency in the people that need to act within the institutions.

Step Five - Keep Fighting the Good Fight

Despite its terrible image, the intense bureaucracy and that specific kind of corruption we find in Europe regarding outside countries bribing influence on the down low, here is a sentence that I thought I would never write in my life: there is a surprising amount of good things being done in Europe.

First of all, it stands united against Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine. That's basically all countries, EU or non-EU, that are against the aggression. There are a couple of 'mixed-bag' leaders closer to the Russian border, but even they, in their often autocratic ways, understand full well they cannot give in to Russia, or they will almost immediately become a vassal. So they too, to all our surprise, always side with the interests of Europe when push comes to shove.

Yet, there is more. The record of the European Court of Justice is excellent. It always sides with democracy and always blocks those testing its limits. Huge funds are allocated for sustainability (in which Europe is leading), military defense and cultural heritage. But that's not the only thing good about those moves. The EU puts a regular 'squeeze' on its members to perform better on these funds, to inch out better results or re-target goals. It's actually excruciating and frustrating when they do so, because you can practically hear the gears of bureaucracy grinding and squeaking in your ears... yet, it always improves the ant farm, again and again.

Protectors for those ants are better too. Sure, this means that new tech can sometimes take longer to fully thrive, yet it's a trade-off. It also means that consumer trust is always a lot better here than anywhere else. The investment climate at large is improving too, with more risk-taking and better focus, largely due to the big EU-guidelines (before they become full blown laws) that give a sort of 'okay' stamp on investments, making them financially reliable, because you know that down the line they'll be finalized into law. And talking about the law; the EU as an entity has - again surprisingly - never failed to come together with all countries on the important issues. Usually by the way, with express support from the non-members too, including the always odd one out, our beloved Turkey.

These are all reasons that despite the many, many voices always telling you otherwise, and despite your own knee-jerk reaction (you and me both buddy), the weird reality of it all is that Europe is actually thriving.

Europe is more united than it looks... reluctantly.

Unlike in America, at the time of writing there is no clear need for European citizens to rise up against destructive powers that ignore the law. However, the need for innovation and progress is just as high as with our American brethren, as the story we tell ourselves in Europe is deeply flawed. It is just focused on very different challenges than the ones across the pond.

Yet remember what's in our DNA from our history of blood. We often don't like each other, we're definitely not fond of our institutions and we still wage war on a football pitch. But we all know, deep down, the thing nobody ever really dares to say. Which I'll say, however reluctantly, anyway...

We know what ‘never again’ means. And as a result, however much we dislike it, Europe is always more united than it looks.

Love, as always,

Rogier van Kralingen

And check out my book The Whole Story - The Ultimate Guide to Storytelling!

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