Democracy first requires a demos, a definable set of a coherent people with a homogenous culture to engage in politics. It also requires the demos to be able to engage in government, and the root of goverment stems from the monopoly on violence. Voting is the most pathetic form of political engagement. It is almost entirely passive. The highest form of political engagement is for the demos to collectively participate in the excercise of governmental violence, which inherently requires the demos to be well-armed. That does not mean chaotic rampaging mobs that burn down cities, but precise violence directed towards those who disrupt a well-ordered society. The greatest single act of democracy is a community lynching, where violence is most precisely wielded by the general will of the people to maintain good order.

The people claiming that democracy is at risk are the same people who hate everything associated with democracy.