Democracy will not die at the hands of a general, nor will it be buried by a classic coup d'état. There will be no tanks in the streets, no abrupt shutdown of parliaments, no immediate suspension of constitutions. Twenty-first-century democracy dies in a much more subtle, sophisticated, and therefore far more dangerous way: it dies at the hands of its own citizens, who are convinced they are defending it.

Data published by the World Health Organization shows that between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over the age of 60 will rise from 12% to 22%. In absolute terms, this corresponds to an increase from nearly 1 billion to more than 2.1 billion individuals. Even more significant is the fact that, since 2020, people over 60 have outnumbered children under five, marking a historic inversion of the age pyramid.