Establishing Democracy

August 20, 2009
Establishing Democracy
By T.S. Khanna

Whatever we see best in our self we tend to seek in others. We like to establish democracy in other countries. However, we ignore the process that matured us into democracy.

A unique concatenation of historical events produced secular democracy in the USA: Open land, abundant resources, great opportunities; immigrants’ strong reaction to the dictator-King, spirit of risk taking, hard work and personal responsibility; small government and no taxation; all conspired to create a large middle class---an essential feature for a stable democracy. In a world apart, free of war or terrorists threats or demagoguery, values emerged nurturing secular democracy, as we have it today.

To establish a new democracy, there are certain prerequisite:
• Public acceptance (Legitimacy), requiring majority population with common values in pursuit of common goals through political process acceptable to minorities;
• Education, focusing on modernism, secularism, and training for marketable jobs;
• Stability, requiring a large middle class participating in the political process; and,
• Judiciary, requiring perception of people as impartial, independent of politics.

Democracy established without these prerequisites would be fragile.

In traditional societies, none of these prerequisites exist. For them, adoption of democracy is the same as adoption of dictatorship for us.

Besides, gradualism is the dominant feature of democracy.

Persistent, patient, no rush approach to establish the prerequisites would eventually bring about stable and progressive democracies in Iraq and in Afghanistan, where every thing is stacked up against democracy at present.