The decline of democracy in the West

Democracy is in deep crisis in the West. That is a bit of a surprise for the good reason that it has been the West which, till now, has been seen by many as a model for democratic governance across the globe. Be it the presidential form of government in the United States or the parliamentary system of politics in Britain, nations have by and large aspired to one or the other of these governmental basics.
And yet in the United States today, democracy is almost on the ropes for a host of reasons. Donald Trump's characterisation of immigrants poisoning American blood is but the newest manifestation of how far democratic behaviour has deteriorated not just in the US but in the West as a whole.
It is not just Trump who has in these past many years been undermining democracy --- observe the loyalty he inspires among his followers despite his dark instincts. Every one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination next year has stayed away from criticising him because they do not wish to upset his base and so lose whatever ground they expect to gain in the campaign.
At the other end, President Biden's faith in democracy has clearly been frayed by his unambiguous support for Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu continues to pummel Palestinians to death and destruction in Gaza. It is of little consequence that in recent days Biden, along with Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, have failed to rein in Netanyahu and persuade him into going for a ceasefire.
Of consequence is the fact that as a self-professed practitioner of democratic norms, America under Biden has been complicit in the murder of, to date, 19,000 Palestinians, a very large number of whom are women and children.
America's unqualified support for Israel in the battering of Palestinian lives, together with the fact that no political figure of note in the US has seen fit to speak up for the Palestinians, is a sad demonstration of the depths to which democracy has plummeted in the country.
Move on to other areas, to Europe, where the rise of far-right governments such as Giorgia Meloni's in Italy and Viktor Orban's in Hungary are pointers to the dangers which democracy is today exposed to in the West. The crusade against immigration underway in Europe and in Britain through such measures as 'Stop the boats' is a powerful hint of democracy caving in to extreme measures.
The British government's Rwanda policy, through which illegal immigrants will be sent to Kigali rather than be allowed to live in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbing, for it points to the fears of an anti-immigrant backlash the authorities fear in London.
In an ironic way, one cannot but contrast the situation with the bold decision by Edward Heath, as leader of the Conservative Party, to dismiss Enoch Powell from the shadow cabinet over the latter's 'rivers of blood' speech in 1968. Powell was afraid that immigration would flood Britain and lead to racial strife.
London argues that it means to curb illegal immigration rather than legal ones. But what is being missed here is that the compassion which has always been a powerful factor in western democracy is simply not being applied to people who make their way to British or continental shores from their diverse countries for various reasons.
Again, the dilemma of western democracy is that while governments are ready and willing to welcome refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine and provide them with a safe future, nothing remotely similar is on offer for Palestinians or other persecuted people around the world.
The growing bankruptcy of western democracy is to be observed in the Ukraine situation. President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine two years ago was rightly condemned in the West, but then came the unseemly haste with which the West rushed to arm Volodymyr Zelensky with all the sophisticated weapons they thought he needed to beat the Russians.
Ukraine has not defeated Russia, but the West, through standing by him, has contributed to the making of a new Cold War. Diplomacy, a means traditionally employed by the West in a resolution of disputes, has been ignored, with the result that a stalemate has now come to be in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ursula von der Leyen and Jens Stoltenberg's defiant positions against Moscow in the conflict did not advance the cause of democracy in Europe. By their strong support for Ukrainian membership of Nato and the EU, meaning the adoption of measures by which the West would emerge as a threat to Russia on its borders, they have done away with the patience and fortitude expected of nations and organisations holding fealty to democratic principles.
Besides, Leyen's swift journey to Tel Aviv in October to demonstrate Europe's solidarity with Israel failed to take account of the wounds Israeli democracy has been inflicting on Palestinians.
By and large, western democracy began to fray around the edges and in the centre with Tony Blair and George W. Bush stealthily organising rendition flights of Afghans and others to countries noted for their skills in employing torture as a weapon of repression. Guantanamo remains a most hideous instance of the hypocrisy which has come to characterise democracy in the West.
And let it not be forgotten that western democracy took a bad mauling when London and Washington invaded Iraq on the basis of a WMD lie and ruined a perfectly beautiful and secular nation in the Middle East.
Democracy in the West is clearly in bad health. The inquiries into party-gate in Britain, together with the delayed resignation of Nadine Dorries from parliament, are reflective of the slide in democratic norms. Marine Le Pen looms as a huge threat over the next French presidential election.
Despite the legal problems he is caught up in, Trump could well make a comeback to the White House. The governor of Texas has just signed a bill allowing police to arrest immigrants illegally entering the United States. The Dutch have brought Geert Wilders back to centre stage. Immigration will continue to be an issue in Europe.
The West has in these past few years taken a sharp turn to the right. Democracy has been losing its liberal credentials and submitting increasingly to intolerance and abusive behaviour. A peer in the UK admits she has been lying about her role in procuring PPE during the Covid pandemic.
The journalist Piers Morgan stands accused of knowing of the phone hacking scandal targeting Prince Harry and others, resorted to by the Mirror Group of Newspapers. Liberal political figures in the US are looked upon as leftists out to ruin the country and are even accused of a lack of patriotism.
Democracy is weak at the knees in the West.

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