Netanyahu won his record fifth-term in the recently held elections in Israel, amidst the grave corruption charges against him. Brazil elected Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right, gun-loving, media-baiting hyper-nationalist in the recent presidential elections. A few days ago Erdogan’s far-right AKP party won maximum seats in the local bodies elections in the middle of a recession in Turkey. The fact these election results were received with great enthusiasm by many of today’s global leaders, including the leaders of some of the world’s major democracies should worry us all.
There is no gainsaying the fact that democracy doesn’t cause growth. Add to this the huge unemployment and growing inequality which cause a sense of unfairness and injustice among large sections of the population. Since we live in a highly-interconnected globalized world, the policies of one nation go beyond its national boundaries. Indians, for example, don’t just have to worry about who we elect as our prime minister but we also have to concern who wins power in Pakistan or China or USA-the elections over which we have no say. All these factors along with the accompanying developments naturally lead to erosion of democracy.
Against this background, the globalization of authoritarianism should not surprise us. The frustration of large segments of populations arising from such situation provides fertile ground for tribalism and populism, which politicians like Erdogan, Modi and Bibi have skillfully exploited.
The sense of unfairness and injustice have given a free hand to populist leaders who promise quick solutions to all the problems without going into detail how they will deliver. BJP’s promise to double the income of farmers and Congress’ Nyay is an example of the competitive populism. Over time, these populist leaders come to regard anybody who disagrees with them as a traitor and conclude that any institution that stands in their way is an illegitimate perversion of the people’s will. Once you’ve said that you alone speak for the whole of the people, any form of opposition to you immediately becomes illegitimate.
Hyper-nationalism also contributes to the erosion of democracy. Human nature craves for a foreign existential threat and politicians invent that threat. Spewing venom against other nations in the election campaigns has become a new norm. Consider our own elections- Pakistan has come to become a leitmotif of election campaign.
Normalization of lying is another factor that weakens the democracy. From Trump to Modi, politicians shamelessly lie to their people and give misleading statements. Telling a constant stream of outrageous lies confuses people, and wears them out. Eventually people give up trying to sort out lies from facts. Once this happens, rule of law becomes impossible, because rule of law requires truth.
Religion is also misused to undermine democracy. Politicians polarize the environment and some regimes claim to be based on God’s words rather than the will of people. Also, rational voter is a myth in the present democratic scenario. People don’t vote for a politician because what he or she will deliver. They vote because who he or she is or what party is being represented by the politician. It is just like sports, where we support a team not just because how it plays but we become deeply connected to a team through family or geography and supporting it becomes a source of great joy. We are witnessing the creation of teams in politics- Team Trump or Team Modi.
Democracy is fragile. Democracies can, and do, die. People need to actively participate in the process of democracy because democracy is a perfect mixture of perfection and imperfection. It is the only kind of government that takes care of popular view and the rights of individuals. Otherwise, putting your rights at the feet of a great leader is a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship. We must exert pressure at the ballot box to save our democracy.
Haris Rashid
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