 It's easy to come across negative news about democracy these days, contested elections, the big lie, disinformation campaigns and so on. Perhaps it is time to turn the spotlight to some positive developments that don't usually get a lot of airtime. Germany, a vital democratic power in the world, is engaged in coalition building after an election untainted by controversies over results. For the North, Iceland has selected a rear-breaking parliament in which nearly half of the members are women. Just this week in my country, Costa Rica, where elections will be held early next year, the government transferred the control over the country's police forces to the electoral tribunal, an age-old ritual that conveys better than anything the sanctity ascribed to holding free and fair elections. And all of this is happening in the midst of a challenging pandemic. International ideas upcoming Global State of Democracy report to be launched in November will highlight how many democracies are proving more resilient than one might think. It is not just about holding elections. Constitutional judges in Germany, for example, have pushed the government to up their game on climate change. And only this month, journalists all over the world reveal secret links between politicians and offshore wealth. Like in Mark Twain's old quip about Wagner's music, the state of democracy is better than it sounds. Many democracies are quietly doing their job under the radar of the 24-hour news cycle. So let's take a break from obsessing over the negative headlines about democracy and sit back in reverence that the democratic process is working in many places outside the limelight. And it's incumbent upon us to keep it that way.