With the passage of time, changes in governance have taken place in most of the democratically-developed countries around the globe. Peoples of many countries, after their long struggles, have won freedom of expression, freedom of choice and freedom of making decisions in state affairs. Democracy has not taken its roots so easily and smoothly as we see in the current century.
Democracy is vital for peace, stability and development. Different empirical analyses of researchers suggest that democracy always helps accelerate stability and economic development of a country. The Democracy and the post-2015 development agenda report of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) says: "Democracy matters for development in the following ways: democracy creates space for citizens to participate in and define the development agenda; democracy provides the free flow of information necessary for an economy to develop and for governments to be accountable to their citizens; democracy can facilitate equitable distribution, and contributions, to the society which are essential for sustainable development; and finally attributes of democratic governance such as transparency and accountability are essential to the development process".
Peace and stability are very much important for sustained economic growth and continued economic development of a country. Established democracy can play a strong role in establishing long-lasting peace and stability. Economic performance depends on the effective planning and policy of the government on one hand and the quality of democracy, political, legal and administrative systems, on the other hand, that exist in a country.
"Today, the values of democracy, open society, respect for human rights, and equality are becoming recognised all over the world as universal values. To my mind there is an intimate connection between democratic values and the fundamental values of human goodness. Where there is democracy there is a greater possibility for the citizens of the country to express their basic human qualities, and where these basic human qualities prevail, there is also a greater scope for strengthening democracy. Most importantly, democracy is also the most effective basis for ensuring world peace," said Dalai Lama.
Some countries, including, but by no means limited to, the world's most wealthy, clean and strong democracies, are persistently stable, peaceful and free from religious and ethnic wars, civil wars, deadly and conflicting politics and military coups. On the other side, some non-democratic and autocratic countries are repeatedly suffering from the crises. Why are some countries politically stable and peaceful and others not? Researchers and analysts after long studies are of the opinion that political system, political authority, political competition and democratic intuitions are the main compurgators. Comparison of one of the richest, happiest and stable countries with one of the poorest of the poor countries squeals that the former one is a democratic country and the later one does not have democracy at all and run by autocrats.
Perceptible evidence adduces that in democratic states there is a high probability that the state will establish conditions supporting development and will focus on growth that benefits all parts of the society. Democracy also favours responsible and sustainable management of natural resources and equitable distribution of national wealth. Although democracy got its momentum in the 21st century, many countries are still there where there's no democracy. Some countries that label their regimes as democracies are, in practice, far removed from complying with basic requirements of democracy. Democracy cannot be limited to holding elections only. It is exceedingly important to see whether the political environment of a country allows its citizens to form political parties without unnecessary restrictions, whether they are allowed as candidates to participate in the elections, whether all political parties enjoy equal facilities with freedom of expression, and whether free, fair and credible elections take place.
It is noticed that some autocratic leaders used the political legitimacy of popular votes to abuse power, enrich allies, deny the opposition parties the right of freedom of expression, freedom of meetings, etc. This creates social and political unrest, political instability, conflicts and entails a civil war.
Political scientists have observed that some countries misuse the concept of democracy and autocracy is deep-rooted in those countries. The rise of elected autocrats threatens democracy in some countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Absence of democracy always entails political unrest and instability that cause loss of lives and properties in many countries. Democracy is always considered as sine qua non for peace and stability.
Democracy guarantees five important fundamental rights of the citizens of a country: freedom of speech, expression and gathering; right to have fair trial and equal judgment; free and uninterrupted media; right to vote freely in public and open elections and right to religious worship. When the government of a country suppresses the opposition, a conflicting and deadly political situation is created that destabilises the political system. Conversely, if any country ensures and guarantees the basic five rights of every citizen, peace and stability will prevail in that country.
Good governance, peace, security, stability and justice are among the most necessitous factors in socio-economic development of developing and underdeveloped countries.
Bangladesh, which won its independence forty-two years back through the martyrdom of three million people, should have a strong democratic system. The political quagmire is costing the country dear, impacting on the economy and tarnishing its image worldwide. The sooner the politicians of the country realised the importance of establishing democracy sans authoritarianism, the better it would be for the people and the country.
The writer is Group Financial Controller of a private                           group of industries. m.jalal.hussain@gmail.com
Political quagmire costs a country dear
M Jalal Hussain | Published: March 03, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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