AUTHORITARIAN DEMOCRACY

Armenian News Network / Groong

http://www.groong.com/

Review & Outlook - 06/14/2005


AUTHORITARIAN DEMOCRACY

Armenian News Network / Groong
June 14, 2005

By Tugrul Keskin


We have been experiencing so-called democratic revolutions
around the world today. These opposition movements from the
Caucasus to Central Asia, from Iraq to Ukraine, are toppling
the old regimes and their state structures. Inexperienced
opposition movements and their leaders are taking over the
state and have continued to control the entire society on behalf
of democracy in the Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Iraq,
Lebanon and many more countries both now, and more to come[1].
However, no one questions the social nature of the democratic
ideas contained in these opposition movements. Where are they
emerging from,and what exactly do they attempt to achieve? Is
the problem in these countries really democracy, or perhaps
instead the exploitation of the market and natural resources
through the use of these so-called democratic movements. The
purpose of these movements is not really democracy, but use of
political goals to achieve economic means.

The process of colonialization involves many different stages
that take place within different historical time periods. As
part of this, both political and economic methods are used as
tools in these stages of its development. For instance, the
cultural, political and economic occupation of Sri Lanka and
India in the 18th century, or similarly the method of `divide
and rule' in Africa was undoubtedly similar to today's tragedy
in Central Asia and the Middle East. As Franz Fanon points out
in his book describing this dynamic, titled `Blacks Skin, White
Masks,' [2] democracy is a mask used as exploitation by the
powerful. We have been witnessing the neo-colonialization process
by colonialist powers and Trans National Corporations (TNC) in
the context of the so-called democratic structure and movements.
The meaning and the real notion of democracy have changed, and
today democracy and civil society are part and parcel in a
process that serves the interests of the powerful, rather than
creating freedom and equality within modern society. Freedom,
free speech and civil society are the true nature and
characteristics of a democracy; however replacing dictators
with puppets will not bring democracy and solve the
socio-economic issues for these underdeveloped and developing
nations, but will only serve to sustain further relationships
of exploitation.

The recent cases of the Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Iraq
have shown us that old and corrupt, anti-democratic regimes
cannot survive by disregarding the people's democratic demands
and sustaining economic equality. On the other hand, the
opposition movements of Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, and Iraq
stepped up and demanded more democracy supported by other
exploiters. A dichotomous situation for a so-called democracy.

In contrast to the argument of some scholars, democracy is
actually a very vague term that is defined in the context of
cultural parameters rather than within a universal pop-culture.
Democracy in Iran may be exercised differently than that of
Western Europe, because there exists in Iran a unique cultural
and historical development of democratic structure and
institutions and socio-economic paradigms that are specific to
the Iranian context. Therefore, we must define and understand
the democratic ideal within its appropriate cultural context.
Democracy does not serve the interests of TNCs, but that of the
people in these countries. Yet, today some neo-liberal scholars
argue that the meaning of `democratic' openness has transformed
into a description of democracy as a political approach that is
unable to survive without the free market. However, the state
structure in developing countries has become dispersed and
polarized by NGOs and their financiers, the TNCs. The state has
been weakened in this way and has lost control over the society
in favor of the interests of the elite or petit bourgeois. For
the TNCs, in order to sell more products, the state structure
should be weakened and tariffs should be abolished for their
own good, not for the good of the people of these countries.
This was the beginning of the decreasing power of the nation
state regarding the neo-liberal capitalist policies. According
to some views, such as those of Thomas Friedman, foreign direct
investment (FDI) and free market capitalism bring more
opportunities and democracy to the underdeveloped and
developing nations. In reality, FDI has not brought freedom to
the developing nations, but has produced an environment
in which there results cheap labor, the existence
of workers without unions, socio-economic chaos, more debt
to the IMF and World Bank, and last but not least, meaningless
independence and sovereignty. There has been an increase in the
power of the nation-state and national borders in the developed
nations, whereas the economic, cultural and political borders of
developing countries have been weakened. Moreover, invisible
borders and the diminishing power of nation state in the
developing nations have generated socio-economic anarchy and
chaos for these nations.

In the context of imperialism and neocolonialism, democracy
cannot be imposed on nations from the `outside.' In his book,
`Democracy in America [3]' Alexis DeTocqueville argues that
American democracy has been developed and constructed within
a democratic societal and state structure, which is by the
people for the people. It took a long time to build and
construct American democracy and the free institutions and
democratic behavior that support this. This was influenced
by the ideas of freedom and equality. Some other scholars
argue that American democracy has developed just within the
last two hundred years. If this is the case for the development
of the democratic process in America, then one must argue that
it will take a long time to build democracy and to shape a
civil society in countries such as Iraq or Kyrgyzstan. Most
importantly, Americans built their democratic state after they
received their independence from England. Democracy was not
begun under British colonialist rule because democracy cannot
be exercised under military or `civil' occupation. Each is
examples of the occupation of both mind and culture and
prevents democratic political organization and idea of civil
society.

It is important to note that the next colorful revolution may
take place in the Caucasus region. The case of Azerbaijan in
the context of democratic struggle is also a good example of
and reflects the power struggle between the puppets of
colonialism (so-called democratic opposition movements) and
the authoritarian state structure. This conflict will have a
considerable impact on the region, because colonialists do not
discriminate between the exploitation of either Armenia or
Azerbaijan. How do you define democracy within this class
of power struggle?

Democracy is neither a product of pop-culture nor exercised by
colonialist powers. Colonialism cannot be the watchdog for any
democratic structure and ideas, because the power holders'
economic interests overlap with anti-democratic movements and
paramilitary organizations, as we have seen in Latin and Central
America. In this sense, how can colonialism protect the real
nature of a democracy, when the `black skin white masks'
attempt to sell their products or to exploit the countries they
have occupied? It is a dichotomic process. We are within a
certain historical stage of human development; therefore in order
to improve our society and to continue along this path of social
and economic achievement, we cannot live without democracy.


NOTES:

1 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050527.html
2 Franz Fanon, Black Skin White Masks
3 Alexis DeTocqueville, Democracy in America


--
Tugrul Keskin is a Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate
Teaching Assistant at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, Department of Sociology. He may be reached at
tugrulk@vt.edu

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