Freedom House, the U.S.-based institute
which surveys the progress of democracy, civil society, freedom
of speech and the media round the world has produced a report
headlined “Democracy
in Crisis” – a grim reportage showing
that democracy’s “basic tenets – including guarantees of free
and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press,
and the rule of law – came under attack around the world.” A few
extract from that very extensive report that studies the condition of
democracy, and the lack thereof, across the world follows.........
Today, it is democracy
that finds itself battered and weakened. For the 12th consecutive
year, according to Freedom in the
World, countries that suffered
democratic setbacks outnumbered those that registered gains. States
that a decade ago seemed like promising success stories—Turkey and
Hungary, for example—are sliding into authoritarian rule. The
military in Myanmar, which began a limited democratic opening in
2010, executed a shocking campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2017 and
rebuffed international criticism of its actions. Meanwhile, the
world’s most powerful democracies are mired in seemingly
intractable problems at home, including social and economic
disparities, partisan fragmentation, terrorist attacks, and an influx
of refugees that has strained alliances and increased fears of the
“other.”
The retreat of
democracies is troubling enough. Yet at the same time, the world’s
leading autocracies, China and Russia, have seized the opportunity
not only to step up internal repression but also to export their
malign influence to other countries, which are increasingly copying
their behavior and adopting their disdain for democracy. A confident
Chinese president Xi Jinping recently proclaimed that China is
“blazing a new trail” for developing countries to follow. It is a
path that includes politicized courts, intolerance for dissent, and
predetermined elections.
A long list of
troubling developments around the world contributed to the global
decline in 2017, but perhaps most striking was the accelerating
withdrawal of the United States from its historical commitment to
promoting and supporting democracy. The potent challenge from
authoritarian regimes made the United States’ abdication of its
traditional role all the more important.
The past year brought
further, faster erosion of America’s own democratic standards than
at any other time in memory, damaging its international credibility
as a champion of good governance and human rights.
The autocratic regimes
in Russia and China clearly recognize that to maintain power at home,
they must squelch open debate, pursue dissidents, and compromise
rules-based institutions beyond their borders. The citizens and
leaders of democracies must now recognize that the reverse is also
true: To maintain their own freedoms, they must defend the rights of
their counterparts in all countries.
Its hard to argue with the very
troubling synopsis that heads this article (reproduced below),
democracy is indeed in crisis and we here in Canada are not immune
from this decline and must be always alert to any attempts to subvert
our democratic processes.
- Democracy faced its most serious crisis in decades in 2017 as its basic tenets—including guarantees of free and fair elections, the rights of minorities, freedom of the press, and the rule of law—came under attack around the world.
- Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains. This marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
- The United States retreated from its traditional role as both a champion and an exemplar of democracy amid an accelerating decline in American political rights and civil liberties.
- Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006,
113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced
a net improvement.
4 comments:
An interesting read, Rural, but I do question the point about American withdrawal from promoting and supporting democracy. If they are talking about American foreign policy efforts, they are ignoring the fact that U.S. efforts have little to do with democracy and everything to do with resource exploitation and protection and advocacy for the corporate/military agenda. If they are talking domestically, the American erosion of democracy has been ongoing for many, many years.
Indeed the mindset of 'America first' has long been evident and has little to do with maintaining democracy within that country, Lorne.
A deeply troubling report, Rural. It documents a bandwagon that wise citizens will reject. The question remains: Do we have enough wise citizens?
That is a question I ask myself frequently as I read the daily news from across this world of ours Owen!
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