Reflections on History from the Setbacks in Global Democratization

 Reflections on History from the Setbacks in Global Democratization

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

April 19, 2017

 Translation of an Except

In recent years a wave of counter-current in the development of global democratization has appeared; the rise of populist political parties has appeared one after another in European countries. Trump was elected US President on planks of anti-China and anti-Washington establishment; a stream of color revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa all withered soon after blooming; Turkish President Erdoğan, on the other hand, utilized a failed coup to successfully expand his powers through amending the Constitution. Across the Taiwan Strait, the authoritarian Mainland China has maintained a high economic growth rate, while democratic Taiwan, on the other hand, has stagnated. All these phenomena led people in the world to harbor doubts over the prospects of democracy. Francis Fukuyama famed for his book The End of History and the Last Man recently visited Taiwan, leading us to ponder anew on the question of whither history is going.

Global trade and the global financial crisis have caused a widespread impact on the livelihoods of the masses at the grassroots. The public hopes that the government will propose measures allowing the benefits of globalization to be shared by all the populace; however, the political elites are helpless in proposing policies, leading to the reemergence of differences in social classes and different generations, igniting grievances and fury.

Another reason for the rise of populism is new technology. Social media has been an effective tool for mass mobilization, whether it was "the Arab Spring," "the Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, Taiwan's "Sunflower Movement," or Hong Kong's "Umbrella Revolution," all used social media for mobilization. The influence of social media on democracy is quite complex. It has been euphemistically dubbed "direct democracy"; however, even Fukuyama does not believe that direct democracy can become a form of national governance. He argues that the Sunflower Movement may perhaps have offered the youth a pulpit for expressing their views; however, it is highly unlikely that the form of direct democracy can be sustained because students cannot manage the government, and parliamentary government is rather the more effective form of political participation.

At the present, the entire world is engaged in soul-searching: is democracy the only value and model? Does the concept of globalization truly benefit all humanity? Why can China, which has not practiced democracy, nor fully opened its markets, maintain a high-speed growing economy? Can the "China Development Model" be sustained and transplanted?

Currently, we still do not have a clear-cut answer. However, it is definite that globalization is the world’s economic trend; Taiwan, which relies heavily on foreign trade, must face up to this challenge. Mainland China is right by our side; Taiwan cannot isolate itself from the greatest investment destination and market in the world. Instead of saying that democracy is the end of human history, it would be better to say that all modernized countries need to erect a free, democratic system with efficiency. In the long term, this will most likely bring forth a system of stable politics and good economic order. However, Taiwan should remain alert all the time: are we going down the old path?

Attachment : none