SSP Diaries | The disappearance of democracy?

DEMOCRACY HAS, in my mind, been a very fragile and loose concept, practised by governments over the years. It has been cut, carved and massaged to suit sets of circumstances, to the extent that in some countries its use has become extremely foggy, at best. As defined by, COMPASS, Manual for Human Rights, democracy comes from the Greek word’s ‘demos’ meaning people, and ‘kratos’ meaning power, hence people power and this is exercised directly or through freely elected representatives.

‘People power’ suggests that it’s the people that have the power and not their representatives entrusted with governance. The question therefore is, how is this power exercised? In many cases in the world today, once a government gets this power it takes on a persona of it own and governs in a manner dictated or decided by those who share this power. Consultation with the people on crucial matters becomes non-existent as this is replaced by the assumption of a right to govern which often dovetails into an absolute abuse of power itself.

EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS

Past President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is a case in point. His war against illegal drugs was a noble endeavour until he allegedly became obsessed with himself, figuring he was above the law and is alleged to have sanctioned dehumanising practices to include torture and extra-judicial killings. Major national policy decisions of this nature, involving the rehabilitation of a country caught in the grip of illegal drug usage and trafficking, at the very least would warrant consultations with the wider public to determine legality, policy acceptability and support. The absence of this important aspect of democratic governance saw Duterte taking matters into his own hands, invariably corrupting the processes which displayed an absence of proper controls.

Similarly, the current US Administration appears to be charting courses of governance that are oblivious to that nation’s constitution and attendant laws. The president hints at running again once he completes his second term even though the law provides for two terms only whether broken or otherwise. This is being touted without the officially sanctioned will of the people. The use of tariffs, as an economic weapon, to coerce or force foreign states to comply with your desires, is undemocratic, particularly when such a will has become an international policy which has not been expressed by the people, and especially when used against those who do not have the capacity to retaliate in kind.

President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on illegal gangs in El Salvador is noteworthy. One argues that the draconian incarceration in that country is reaping dividends as the country is now more peaceful than ever before. Mass incarcerations without trials are the order of the day. Did this policy have nationwide approval or was it foisted upon the people? The latter appears to be the reality. The rate of incarcerations cannot be sustained inevitably. There is talk about accepting deportees from the USA, obviously for a fee. This suggests that the original policy has become corrupted as economics/profitability is slowly being factored in the equation. The policy implemented here seems more likely to occur under a communist regime. Is the country likely to be prepared for the eventual release of people incorrectly detained?

THEY TOO WILL SUFFER

Where are the principles of democracy in the Israeli war on Gaza? Is this debacle the will of the people or the will of a government that seems to have lost its way? I suspect it’s the latter, they have found themselves with an abundance of unchecked power, bolstered by the most powerful nation on earth and their European allies, that they have forgotten how to be human and how to govern in the interest of their people. It cannot be a sound democratic principle when atrocities are wantonly committed and prolonged against a people without having due regard for your own, and the fact that they too will suffer, if not now, then in the generations to come.

The rape of African resources under various colonial rules cannot escape mention. How can a colonial power honestly say that it ruled for the benefit of a people when enrichment was a one-way street and the colonies left worse off than they were before? The cry of the people for a better share of what is theirs never materialised, largely because there was no intent on the part of the coloniser to make them any better. Democracy as invented by the Greeks was never about the exploitation of races, but was designed to improve the status of those being governed ensuring a better life in all aspects. Even here in the Caribbean there is evidence to support our deviation from the principles of good democratic governance, one only must refresh their memories on the reported cases of alleged illegal enrichments and corrupted government officials. To add to our woes, we have the deeply troubled state of Haiti which continues to suffer from severe deviations from good democratic governance.

One is left to ponder if there is not a bit of communism in waning democracies. “Communism is a political and economic ideology that positions itself in opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism. It advocates instead for a classless system in which the means of production are owned communally, and private property is non-existent or seriously curtailed.” (Chen, James 2024).

In our disappearing democracies, individuals have taken on the trappings of the powerful in the communal state, they believe they have a right to everything, inclusive of the interpretation of laws, use of power, allocation of rewards and awards and enrichment through position and entitlement. They have become laws onto themselves, have empowered themselves accordingly and lost sight of the people. Sadly, such a dilemma can only be rectified by the people themselves; the question is how long will it take them to realise that they need to hold their representatives accountable?

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