The core shared European value is democracy, with the rule of law as its backbone, but today the spirit of optimism surrounding democracy is fading by the day in the eyes of our societies, emphasized Irena Kucina, President of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, at an international conference on the resilience of common European values.
Kucina stated that there is a growing sense that democracy has lost its future, and that we are all increasingly concerned about the resilience of states, societies, and the prospects of democracy.
Reflecting on the collapse of democracies in interwar Europe, she highlighted that democracy must never be taken for granted—it is fragile. Both history and present realities show that each generation must reaffirm the values upon which democracy is built.
With regret, she noted that today we are witnessing attacks on democracy from both external and internal forces. At this very moment, democratic Ukraine is fighting against autocratic and imperialist Russia.
While most democratic countries still support Ukraine, not all do, Kucina emphasized. This, she said, undermines the core values of democracy, by indirectly legitimizing aggressive warfare against a sovereign nation.
She expressed strong conviction that authoritarian regimes are not only seeking military victory, but also intellectual and moral dominance.
These states want the world to believe that democracy is weak and that autocracy is superior, Kucina warned. Various tools are being used to undermine state authority and erode public trust in institutions. Democratic nations must not allow narratives of weakness in democracy and the rule of law to take hold, she stressed.
Kucina also pointed to manipulation of public opinion via new information technologies as a modern and insidious threat to democracy—one that is becoming a norm rather than an exception. She argued that the most vulnerable part of democracy has been identified by its enemies: the public forum where opinions are shaped.
She noted the creation of new platforms that expose citizens to manipulation, and that these platforms are designed in ways that enable opinion control, leading to the rapid spread of disinformation and the construction of false realities, leaving societies emotionally charged and divided.
Nonetheless, she emphasized that rule-of-law states have developed legal mechanisms to defend democracy and are now expanding their tools to respond to emerging threats.
The consequences of international political developments demand that courts also understand and navigate the political environment, assessing the impact of specific political processes on the survival of democratic values, Kucina concluded.