Nils Gilman & The Business Case for Defending Democracy
Phoebe Fu, Manager at Future 500 Published February, 2024
Nils Gilman & The Business Case for Defending Democracy
Earlier this month, our team hosted Nils Gilman, the COO and Sr. VP of the Berggruen Institute, in a virtual discussion with our Corporate Affinity Network. The Berggruen Institute is a leading think tank focusing on complex societal ideas that touch everything from governance and democracy to the planet. Much of Nils’ focus has been on citizen participation, democracy beyond the ballot box, and corporate roles in political responsibility. Here are some key insights from our discussion.
A Case for Hope:
2024 is a historic year globally for Democracy—more than 2 billion people will go to the polls in national elections, influencing near-future global outcomes.
A Case for Worry:
In the U.S., there will be another polarizing election cycle with the Presidency and Congressional majorities hanging in the balance. Many pundits suggest there may again be potential violence and associated political instability in the U.S. this fall and into next year, which creates risks for business.(1)
Nils listed several emerging indicators in the U.S. that he likened to a low-intensity civil war, more typical to countries facing political risk from genocide and coups:
1. narratives of existential risk, particularly from both sides of the aisle,
2. a fragmented media environment with polarizing perspectives that lead to viewers living in different realities,
3. a highly armed population,
4. law enforcement or military complicity to the central government, and
5. the nullified rule of law in certain ways.
He related that business is one of the biggest contributors to U.S. political campaigns, and so the business community is positioned to play an important role in preserving and defending democracy.
So, how might a company take action internally and externally to navigate the often mercenary and mercurial political winds of 2024 and beyond? Nils recommended a few things.
External Actions:
While political winds can quickly shift, businesses can collectively articulate the value of political stability for a country by voicing simple principles that reinforce a peaceful democracy, such as (1) everyone with the right to vote should be able to, (2) their votes should be counted, and (3) the candidate with the most votes should be elected, can collectively go a long way in upholding the democratic process.
The heavily polarized nature of U.S. democracy today warrants nuanced and careful consideration of how companies should navigate the political sphere. Putting forth a political position on one issue may seem trivial but may invite increasing public scrutiny of companies’ positions on various issues. Rather than provoking such scrutiny, companies should advocate a set of undeniable principles in upholding a just democracy, such as the three mentioned above, as a starting point.
To mitigate political risk, there’s safety in numbers. Companies who collaborate together on such statements of principle can be a cohort in articulating pro-democracy values and presenting a stronger public front. Collective statements have much more power than ones from individual companies and mitigate risk to each individual corporation. Furthermore, this may help mitigate the perception of partisan bias, which can be applied broadly to companies’ political advocacy and spending.
Internal Actions:
Outline employee guidelines for political conversations and actions to help establish guardrails to allow people the freedom to express themselves while maintaining decorum and respect. When is it appropriate and inappropriate? What types of tones are unacceptable? Where should these conversations occur?
Consider allowing your employees the day off to vote or to volunteer to staff and monitor voting booths and precincts on election day. This helps uphold the integrity of voting, creating space for the process and potentially discouraging tactics of intimidation and attacks toward booth volunteers.
Such standards and outspokenness for a just democracy are increasingly vital in our world.
Corporate Political Responsibility:
Businesses have an important role to play in 2024. While the cries of a failed U.S. democracy may be an exaggeration, there is a dawning recognition of the importance for individuals and businesses- which are composed of individuals, to make concentrated efforts to uphold a just democracy and peaceful electoral transitions in the U.S.
Note: Corporate Political Responsibility will be a strategic focus for Future 500 throughout 2024 to help businesses better understand how potential political risks from the November 2024 elections may impact them and the risk mitigation steps they might take to defend electoral integrity and democratic leadership transitions. Our next discussion on this topic will occur April 3-4 in Atlanta at our next corporate working group meeting (see agenda).
1 “CEOs overwhelmingly identified political uncertainty ahead of US elections (51%) as the greatest US challenge affecting businesses in 2024.” U.S. CEO Confidence Survey by The Conference Board. February 8, 2024.
In a similar 2023 survey by the Conference Board, “78% of US companies characterized the current political environment as “extremely challenging” or “very challenging” for companies—and 20% more described the environment as merely “challenging.” That totals 98%.” How do companies view the current political environment and what can they do about it?, JD Supra, February 9, 2023
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