The state of democracy

Democracy is under dissent. That itself is a democratic principle. To disagree with what is democratic and what is not is part of being democratic. The world's democracies are themselves undergoing tremendous debate. Is the US a true established democracy? Is India the largest democracy in the world really an ideal case study? Is European parliamentarian system better for democracy or is the American Presidential system better? Is Pakistan a managed democracy or is Pakistan an unmanageable democracy? These are all questions that have different answers depending on who is answering them. Despite such intense introspection the fact that the world has moved away from the communistic style of government is a fact that democracy has gained grounds but the ground may not be even and level in all parts of the world.
In the more developed world democracy and capitalism have become entwined. Free markets, free trade, free media, free speech, free exchange rates, free expression are all supported as hallmarks of a democratic society. At the same time we have seen question marks on the reckless free float of money, power, authority that led to a world that is getting increasingly unequal and remains unjust. As the democratic world in the west comes under recession the not so democratic country like China keeps on rising and expanding. Thus, the debate on whether the system needs a revisit or the interpretation and implementation of the system needs a re-construct.
The Economic Intelligence Unit's report on Democracy Index is based on five categories - electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture. On the basis of these indicators it ranks countries on a scale of 10 and classifies them on the basis of their score as 'full democracy', 'flawed democracy', 'hybrid regime' and 'authoritarian regime'. While overall Asia countries have made progress they are still more or less in flawed or hybrid regimes while Western countries except Norway are moving towards partial democracy. In Asia, South Korea was ranked first due to public movement against the corrupt President which resulted in her conviction. It will be interesting to see how Pakistan will be ranked next year as a similar movement has taken place in the country. As of 2017 ranking Pakistan was ranked as low as 110.
The 11th Bali Democracy forum was held at Bali on 6th and 7th December 2018 at Nusa Dua, Indonesia. This forum is held yearly to assess the state of democracy in the world, its challenges and the way forward to strengthen democracy. 91 countries took part in it including Pakistan. The inaugural session noted that there were mixed trends on democracy progress in the world. The world has seen an interesting change in the style of governance in the world. In the 70s and 80s the South East Asian countries were blamed for having the authoritarian leaders like Sorharto and Mahathir, etc. The western world was the democracy practitioner and democracy therewas the standard against which democracy was measured. The institutions being stronger than the head of the country was touted as an example that was reinforced by the exit of President Nixon on the Watergate scandal.
There is however a change in this trend in the 21st century. In January, the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index for 2018 reported that electoral democracy was continuing its "disturbing retreat" the world over. While the authoritarian figures are back in many traditionally democratic countries such as Donald Trump in the US and Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, many key countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan have rejected traditional political monopolies to go for people who are relatively more public centric. In May, Malaysian politics was changed irrevocably with the election of its opposition for the first time in 60 years of independence. Accountability, openness and democratic progress appear to be finally within reach in Malaysia. Indonesia's widely popular President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has really focused on rural development and public benefits with a more open and tolerant society.
Malaysia is a case in point. Similar to South Korea public protest against the corrupt Najib Razzak led to the re-election of Mahathir Mohammad at the age of 93. He is not the same authoritarian man as he has admitted to his mistakes and allowed critics to flourish. He took to Twitter to chastise authorities for arresting a man who had allegedly slandered him on Facebook. "I don't agree with the action taken against those who criticise me," he said. In contrast to that India that is the largest democracy in the world has faced intense criticism for Narendra Modi's increasing intolerance. A critic was recently convicted and jailed for talking against him.
In this context, Pakistan has made progress. Pakistan is the 5th largest democracy in the world. This is the third smooth transition to democracy in the country. The two -party dynastic rule has been broken after nearly four decades and a third party has won the election again on the slogan of anti-corruption.
As was discussed in the 11th Bali democracy forum democracy principles do not change but its practices need to be indigenized, its values need to be encultured and its impact needs to be assessed from a multi-dimensional approach. The superpower of today , ie, the USA is turning more authoritarian and the possible superpower of tomorrow, ie, China is opening up more and more to the world. Both the countries may be flawed democracies but the quality of flaws may differ. The use of the word "freedom" in democracy has been misused by the west. Freedom to disregard cultural norms, local values, traditions has not only led to reactions when imposed on other countries but created deep social polarization within their own cultures. The two real questions to determine democratic prevalence is, whether it is the rule of law or the rule of the ruler, and, whether those who are ruled collectively are more powerful than the people who rule them.
(The writer is a columnist can be reached at [email protected])