Challenges to the Realization of a Global Right to Democracy
The Third Wave of democracy that swept the globe as the Cold War collapsed produced the much discussed euphoria of the 'end of history.' With the optimism bred of assured inevitability, western governments and international organizations (IGOs) mobilized resources for democratic nation-building in failed states, countries in transition, and in what former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called 'states-at-risk.' Now, two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall, experience has not matched the earlier vision and unexpected obstacles threaten to severely slow, even reverse, the march toward a universal democratic order. The continuing challenges take at least four forms. First, there remain traditional non-democratic forces such as still-existing authoritarian models of government, elite domination within societies, corruption, and inequalities in many guises. Second, neo-liberal globalization enhances the power of non-democratic structures. By the nature of a socially unregulated global market, neo-liberal policies produce winners and losers both between nations and inside them, making egalitarian democratic politics extremely difficult to achieve. Third, IGO promotion of democracy, since it is conducted by dozens of independent international organizations, often works at cross-purposes not only to global democracy as understood by other IGOs, but also undercuts grassroots democratic movements. Finally, theoretical issues that are not easily resolvable arise from the tension between externalized democracy promotion and democratic philosophy that fundamentally leaves the choice of government and rights to those who must live with the choices made
Year of publication: |
2010
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Authors: | Pubantz, Jerry |
Publisher: |
[2010]: [S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Demokratie | Democracy | Globalisierung | Globalization | Welt | World |
Description of contents: | Abstract [papers.ssrn.com] |
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