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Deepening democracy in a fragmented world

'Around the world, there is a growing sense that democracy has not delivered development such as more jobs, schools, health care for ordinary people, said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, chief author of the Report. "Politicians often use this to justify authoritarianism and curtailment of human rights. But history and academic research provide no evidence that authoritarian regimes are better at promoting economic and social progress."

In theory, the world is more democratic than it has ever been, notes the Report. For example: 140 of the world's nearly 200 countries now hold multi-party elections. But in practice, only 82, with 57 per cent of the world's people, are fully democratic in guaranteeing human rights, with institutions such as the free press and an independent judiciary. And 106 countries still limit important civil and political freedoms.

Of the 81 countries that embraced democracy in the latter part of the 20th Century, the Report points out that only 47 have gone to become fully functioning democracies. Several have since returned to authoritarian rule: either military, as in Myanmar or Pakistan, or pseudo-democratic, as in Zimbabwe in recent years. National armies have intervened to varying degrees in the political affairs of 13 sub-Saharan States since 1989: nearly one in four countries in the region. Many other countries have got stalled somewhere between democracy and authoritarianism. In response to these problems, the Report urges a new emphasis on "deepening democracy" at the local, national and international level.

This would focus not only on strengthening democratic institutions, such as free and fair elections and a representative legislature, but also broad-based political parties, a judiciary that is independent, media that are ethical and professional and free of both state and corporate control, and a vibrant civil society.

On the international level, the Report calls for deepening democratic practices in international institutions where power is concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest countries. "Global pluralism has not accompanied global economic integration," said Fukuda-Parr.

Though strong democratic institutions will be crucial to advancing development in the 21st Century, they are not enough, concludes the Report. Countries will also need to promote "democratic politics" - by supporting the new wave of civic involvement and popular participation that is sweeping the world. In Madya Pradesh and Rajasthan, for example, two of the poorest states in India, greater community involvement in planning local education since 1991 has helped raise the local literacy rate by 20 percentage points. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, direct citizen involvement in preparing municipal budgets has nearly doubled the share of the population with access to sanitation since 1989.

New wave of democracy-building urgently needed

"Democracy deficits" in many countries put human development and security at risk Manila - The wave of democracy-building of the 1980s and 1990s has stalled, with many countries lapsing back into authoritarianism or facing rising economic and social tensions, warns this year's Human Development Report (HDR), commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and released last week. In response, it calls for a new emphasis on giving ordinary people a greater say in both national and global policy making.

"Development policies since the early 1980s have focused largely on economics and markets," said Mark Malloch Brown, UNDP Administrator. "Those things are important. But the big lesson of this period is never ignore the critical role of politics in allowing people to shape their own lives. Political development is the forgotten dimension of human development."

Going beyond arguments for 'good governance' that call for regulatory transparency and management efficiency for growth, HDR 2002 lays out a broad conception of what is good governance. It means not only ridding societies of corruption but also giving people the rights, the means, and the capacity to participate in the decisions that affect their lives and to hold their governments accountable for what they do. It means fair and just democratic governance.

The Report looks at the advance of democracy in the 20th Century and how it has affected developing countries and poor people. It argues that democracy is neither a luxury nor a panacea for poor countries. It is intrinsic to the process of human development, the freedom and the choice that allows an individual or a group dignity and fulfillment within any society. But the links between democratic practices and institutions and social and economic progress are not automatic. For example, inequalities rose after the transition to democracy in the former Soviet Union, and persist in democracies such as Brazil.

War on terror must not put democracy on the backburner The Report also warns against compromising human rights and support for democracy in the fight against global terror, and strongly disputes the notion that authoritarian regimes are better for political stability and economic growth.

"The desire for stability often leads to the notion that non-democratic regimes hold out the prospect of greater public order and faster economic development," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, chief author of the Report. "But the evidence suggests they deliver neither."

Around the developing world - from Malaysia to Pakistan, Colombia to Kazahkstan - more populist or authoritarian leaders have argued that there is a trade-off between national stability and personal freedom. They claim that very poor countries need to concentrate on building peace and economic prosperity first - and human rights and democracy later. But HDR 2002 provides strong evidence to the contrary.

It cites recent research showing that established democracies are much less likely to experience civil war than non-democratic regimes, and that even newer democracies are more likely to cope with political unrest effectively than authoritarian regimes. It says that this is probably because in democracies there are non-violent ways of resolving political conflicts, and the opposition has the hope that its turn may come. It also points out that democratic countries almost never go to war with each other - an important argument for democracy in its own right. Since 1990, 38 new peacekeeping operations were established, compared to only 16 between 1946 and 1989, one indication of the global fragmentation referred to in the title of the Report. It argues that economic, social, and cultural divisions are exacerbated by a lack of democracy and democratic practice - at the national and international level.

The Report says that this holds important lessons for peace-building in Afghanistan - where efforts to build democracy need to go hand in hand with efforts to restore peace. But the lesson applies more broadly. Around the world, the Report argues that deepening democratic practice, nationally and internationally will be vital in the battle against social injustice - and will provide a bulwark against terrorism in its own right. "The Report provides a strong reminder to the international community that the fight against terrorism needs to be fought on many fronts," said Mark Malloch Brown, UNDP Administrator. "Terrorism feeds on failed states and poor governance as much as failures of national security: we cannot successfully address one without the other."

International institutions need injection of democracy

Protesters in both developed and developing countries in recent years have been motivated by concern that poor people and countries are losing out in the way that global affairs are managed. Whether it is the trade barriers and subsidies that keep poor country farmers out of rich country markets, or the slow response to the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, the leading global powers and institutions stand accused of being unfair and out of touch.

But it doesn't have to be this way, says the Report which calls for concrete reforms to increase the role of developing countries in international institutions and make them more open and accountable to the people and countries whose lives they affect. Nearly half of the voting power in the World Bank and Internationally Monetary Fund (IMF) rests in the hands of seven countries. And though all countries have a seat and a vote in the World Trade Organisation - in practice, decisions are taken in small group meetings and heavily influenced by Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States. In 2000, 15 African countries did not have a single trade representative stationed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"Powerful states are always going to have a major role in global decision-making," said Mark Malloch Brown, UNDP Administrator, "But there is plenty of room to give poorer countries a real say in helping confront the challenges of a more interdependent world." The Report highlights a number of reforms that could address some of the more obvious imbalances in global decision-making. These include: eliminating the UN Security Council veto, reforming the selection process for the heads of the IMF and World Bank (currently controlled by Europe and the United States, respectively), and new programmes to help the poorest countries better represent their interests at the WTO. In the UN Security Council, the majority of vetoes do not concern vital international security issues: 59 vetoes have been cast to block admission of member states, and 43 vetoes have been used to block nominees for Secretary General in closed sessions of the Council.

"People need to believe their elected representatives will have a fair chance to represent their interests on decisions or policies that impact their lives and the well-being of their families," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, chief author of HDR 2002.

The Report says that recent global civil society campaigns - on everything from reducing poor country debt to accessing essential medicines under the TRIPS intellectual property agreement - have pointed at ways to reach more collaborative solutions to global problems in an interdependent world. Over 1,000 civil society organisations across the world worked together in a campaign to establish an International Criminal Court (ICC). Due in large part to the efforts of this coalition, it took just four years for the 1998 ICC Treaty to be ratified by more than 60 countries and come into force: a milestone some thought would take decades to achieve.

Rather than feeling threatened by such global activism, the international community should see it as an opportunity to inject new energy and popular legitimacy into global decision-making, the Report argues. There are already some promising examples along these lines. The Report mentions the World Commission on Dams that brought together not only governments and financing institutions but also people to be resettled, the engineering firms, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders into defining guidelines and good practices. Another example is the United Nations new Global Compact on Corporate Social Responsibility that brings global corporations to reexamine their commitments to upholding basic public values.

"Global civil society movements have been behind some of the most significant global policy shifts of the last decade," Fukuda-Parr stated. "But civic activism is not a substitute for democratic principles in formal decision making structures. Just as consulting with a few NGOs is not a substitute for a parliamentary debate at the national level, democratic principles require that all countries get a hearing in global institutions and decisions."

About the report: Every year since 1990, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has commissioned the Human Development Report (www.undp.org/hdro) by an independent team of experts to explore major issues of global concern. A worldwide advisory network of leaders in academia, government and civil society contribute data, ideas, and best practices to support the analysis and proposals published in the report. The concept of Human Development looks beyond per capita income, human resource development, and basic needs as a measure of human progress and also assesses such factors as human freedom, dignity and human agency, that is, the role of people in development. The HDR argues that development is ultimately a process of enlarging people's choices, not just raising national incomes.

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