Note: I originally wrote this piece in 2008 when I was a US European Command Deputy J5. I have done some light editing, primarily in format and grammar. I’ve divided the long paper into a series for easier reading on a blog. The National Security Strategy referenced  here is dated, but I think the overall content is still valid and important in today’s environment.This is part 2 of the series on democracy and national security.

Democracy in the Developing World

Before we start, however, let’s look at an interesting statement from an editorial in the 11 January 2008 edition of the New York Times by Aiden Hartley, entitled “Democracy by Other Means”. Harley, a native of Kenya, is the author of The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love and Death in Foreign Lands and worked for Reuters as a reporter. In the article, he wrote:

Kenyan democracy has failed because ordinary people were encouraged to believe that the process in and of itself could bring change. So Kenya’s leaders — and often international observers — interpret democracy simply in terms of the ceremony of multiparty elections. Polls bestow legitimacy on politicians to pillage for five years until the next depressing cycle begins.

This paragraph eloquently sums up the dangers of focusing on democracy rather than in building the processes and systems required to secure human rights and liberty. If the US goal is simply democracy, it runs this risk time and time again as it engages in other parts of the world with different historical and cultural settings. The US—and all western, representative governments—needs to engage countries along a spectrum of potential activities that recognize their history and culture, as well the systems they have in place. The goal should be to protect liberty and human rights in a matrix that can be supported within the country. Without the rule of law and a tradition of governance that supports human rights, efforts to create a democracy could create even worse conditions. Democracy as the US understands it may not be the best vehicle everywhere.

Two passages from Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion are also quite interesting in this light.

On page 51, speaking of a natural resource trap, he wrote, “ And I think the political science explanation is also important: resource rents are likely to induce autocracy. In the ethnically diverse societies of the bottom billion, such autocracies are likely to be highly detrimental for economic development…”

On page 71, speaking of preconditions for turnaround of poor societies, he wrote:

Democracy doesn’t seem to help policy turnaround. That is extremely disappointing, both for advocates of democracy and because democracy is more common now in the countries of the bottom billion than it used to be. Having a large population and having a high proportion of people with secondary education both help. The may well be pointing to the same thing: countries need a critical mass of educated people in order to work out and implement reform strategy.”

Collier’s point is that while many of the poorest countries are resource rich, they do not possess the core capacity—effective policies and process—to turn themselves around. Even when they can overcome the autocracies and attempt to form democratic forms of government, they still often do not possess the means to turn themselves around.

China provides a somewhat illustrative point. While it is not a resource rich country as envisioned by Collier, it is an autocracy, with a large population that is increasingly educated. China has managed an amazing turnaround…without a democratic government. Time will tell where the Chinese experiment leads and whether it is sustainably in its autocratic form.

The examples of China and democratic governments in the bottom billion stand “common wisdom” that democracy and economic prosperity go hand-in-hand on its ear.

Democracy is a Tool

Democracy is not an end. Rather, it is a means to secure the end of human rights and the rule of law. Human rights—the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—are the end state that should guide engagement with other governments, particularly in the developing world. The means then need to be tailored to the situation and be flexible to respond to changes.

Furthermore, a democracy relies upon a process of fair, free and informed voting that can take years to develop. It requires both a fair electoral system and an informed and capable electorate. Voters must be informed, capable of making rational choices in complex situations, and free from coercion to make those choices. If any of these three conditions are not present, democracy cannot secure the ends of human rights and the rule of law.

An informed and capable electorate depends upon ready access to information and the capability to sort through biases, misinformation and incorrect information to understand the critical issues. This requires a sound educational system and a free press. Without either, the electorate cannot make wise choices when it goes to the polls.

When it goes to the polls, the electorate must have a fair system, free of coercion and corruption. These systems must be developed and safeguarded. The voting process must be transparent and trustworthy. Otherwise, the validity of the election will be in question. This process, if not already present, could take years to effectively develop. Otherwise, the country could face the situation Harley describes.

And without a fair and free election, made by an informed and capable electorate, the resulting government could actually be antithetical to human rights and the rule of law, even though it was elected in a democratic process. The Kenyan example above shows the dangers of a potentially flawed process without an informed electorate. Collier hints at other examples as well. Let us also not forget that Hitler was duly elected as Chancellor of Germany. A means does not always lead to the desired ends. A means, after all, is a tool. And tools can be used to achieve different ends. An ice pick may be used to break apart ice for a refreshing drink, or, as Walter Freeman espoused and performed, to do a lobotomy.

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