Democracy Can Still Deliver.

Democracy is going through a rough patch. According to a report published by Freedom House, the number of democracies around the world has retreated in recent years. The frightening turbulence in countries struggling to transition to democracy such as Myanmar and Afghanistan makes clear how difficult that process is. And with economic malaise persisting in many democratic nations, growth still surges in autocratic China, leaving more than a few people wonder whether it’s even worth considering democracy after all its political dysfunctions. Can democracies effectively fulfill the aspirations of citizens in present complex world?

I, for one, come down firmly on the side of Churchill, who famously quipped, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried”.

While some authoritative states have managed to deliver impressive economic growth, one must not forget that many more have failed miserably and have left their citizens deprived of the most basic human rights along the way. The experiences of democratic countries as diverse as Indonesia, Poland, and Mexico show that democracies can indeed deliver both economic growth and freedom.

Ann Bernstein in his new report, “The Democratic Alternative from the South: India, Brazil, and South Africa,” echoes this view. The report concludes that inclusive growth is not only possible in a democracy but that democracy can offer a competitive advantage to nations pursuing high-growth policy reforms that acts as an, inbuilt self-correction mechanisms to address bad policies of government and hold politicians accountable. As consolidated democracies, Brazil, India, and South Africa have established strong institutions to battle corruption and abuse of power, ensure effective democratic governance, and to have more transparency. Among these institutions are Brazil’s Supreme Court, which recently trailed Prime Minister Dilma Rousseff and other senior staff member of the party in the country’s largest corruption case, and another incident of South Africa’s office of the public prosecutor, which investigates and addresses abuse of powers and misconduct in government.

It is also noted that democracies often look messy and even politically chaotic from the outside, but they are surprisingly resilient. Autocracies, on the other hand, appear to be stable and efficient, until quite suddenly they aren’t. And their meltdown can affect the world massively.

The case studies of Brazil, South Africa, and India are great reminders that democracy can take root in all types of societies at different levels of development. It is not restricted to just rich countries; indeed, for these countries (and many others) democracy is the path to inclusive growth.

Aman Singhal

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