Overpoliticized State and Democratization - Essay Example

Over-politicization refers to a of over engaging in political activities. It has the potentialof lessening or enhancing democracy depending on how it is handled. Freedom group, a democracy faction in USA found out that democracy is declining. This paper seeks to look into the impact of democracy against autocracy and communism and its impact in economic growth. The paper looks at perceptions that revolve around democracy. According to the group, human rights had retreated in the globe for four consecutive years. This was the longest decline in 40 years. The group found out that declines had happened in 40 countries while gains had happened in 16.overpoliticization seems to be on the rise. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of the countries neighboring Russia were crowded with western advice dealing with political and economic matters. Most of this advice gave tips on multiparty democracy to both Russia and her neighbors. The situation is different now. The same countries do not want to learn any lessons from western countries at all. The countries are getting inclined to authoritarian rules at an alarming late. A telling example is the closed door meeting that was held between a Russian party and the Chinese communist party. China and Russian have bid contrasts. Russians seem to be interested in building a political system that is run and dominated by a political party. The pro-Kremlin unite Russia party believes that political domination is vital when it comes to governance. In the 2008-2009 global recessions, Latin America faced many challenges (Piccone, 82). Most of these countries suffered due to the risky lending in the United States. This causes some of these countries to propose a temporal delinking from the north. One of direct impact of the global recession in Latin America is the negative impact on neoliberal Washington consensus. The leaders from the region are looking forward to playing an active role in regulation economic affairs. According to the Ricardo Lagos, former Chilean president, there are political implications that come with the economic crisis. He is renowned for his slogan-politics is back. The leaders in the Latin America are known for strengthening government with an aim of increasing their political grip. Stronger government does not lead to increased democracy. Economic crisis has caused countries to result in over politicization as leaders seek to tighten their grip in power. This comes amid protests and frustration from the citizenry about the rising cost of life. The region is known to have structures that burden their citizenry with public insecurity and inequality. The regions depend on natural resources, and leaders are determined to strengthen their control over these resources. The politics in the region have discouraged the rule of law. The area is facing numerous challenges that are dominated by the illicit trade and tax evasion. The government is left without resources for future investment. The regional leaders are not keen of establishing strong judicial mechanisms and police institutions. They focus on self preservation and their grip on power. This has been reflected in Honduras where a military coup took place plunging the country into a political crisis. Rather than, pursue reconciliation, leaders prefer to use force to control their influence. Latin Americas democrats tend to focus on short term visions with are of a political nature. Over politicization, the Latin America caused the government to anarchy and loss of public trust. According to freedom observers in west, liberty and democracy is under threat with increased reverses. An increasing number of semi-free nations seem to be uncertain on with the path to follow as support for democracy continues to wane (Budapest & Kabul, 3). Many prodemocracy supporters are begun acknowledging that democratic system has visible demerits. The most conspicuous challenge being contested elections in weak systems. Many argue that democracy without a rule of law and basic needs for people remains hollow. According to Mark M.B., a former United Nations development head thinks that while democracy is a good system of governance, the West focuses on events similar to multi-party elections as opposed to the coexistence and consensus needed. The west does not believe that other forms of government consensus exists other than multiparty democracy. America and the west have tried to discourage dictatorial politics in the Middle East and Africa. America led a coalition to wage war in Afghanistan in the name of democracy. The aim of this coalition was to discourage corruption and dictatorial political elites. However, democracy has caused some radical groups to take over power through rallying masses. In 2006, Palestinian elections put Hamas to power causing American enthusiasm in promoting democracy, to dip. Emerging democracies crumble in case of contested elections, since their institutions are weak. The rise of china has inspired politicians in the world over to tighten the grip of power. Believers in over politicization argue it is possible to have a firm grip on political power and still have a dynamic economy (Budapest & Kabul, 5). China has attracted many would-be imitators. Many authoritarian governments are getting inspired by the rise of china (Sangmpam, 410). The same case applies to Saudi Arabia, which is known to have massive oil deposits and good infrastructure and is a monarchy. In Syria, the socialist market economy by the ruling Baath party has managed to stabilize the economy. Vietnam opted to emulate the china reforms on economy. Vietnam was scolded by freedom house for being a communist state. Iran is courting Chinese economists and legal experts. Islamic states and communists are not extremely similar, but they are known to oppose the western style democracy. Cuba has been known to lean towards Marxist ideas. Cuba has been run through over politicized government and democracy has been opposed. Cuba has shown interest in the Chinese form of government and its economic growth. Many African states are opting to cooperate with, China, as opposed to the west and America. China has become popular in Africa for not giving political and human freedom lectures unlike the Western countries and the United States. China, a strongly communist state has successfully handled the global economic crunch compared to United States. The West is known to accuse china of lessening its respect for human rights especially through the one-child policy. Transparency international argues that one in every fifteen corrupt governments is democracy. Hong Kong and Singapore are considered semi-democratic. Research shows that both democratic and communist countries struggle with corruption. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian did not adopt democracy as its form of government (Budapest & Kabul, 6). Ukraine is a democratic state but is still as corrupt as Russia. Critics argue that democracy is not any superior to any other form of government. With rising frustrations coming from a weakening global economy, many governments are beginning to doubt the power of democracy. Authoritarian governments are tightening their grip on power. Some communist governments are performing better economically than strong democracies. This has caused people to think over politicization is not deficient as long as the government is meeting the needs of the citizenry adequately. According to Lee Yew, a former Singapore minister, democratic system results in uncontrollable demeanor. Lee argues that improvement is hindered when unitary conduct is missing. However, no compelling proof serves to facilitate the allegations autocracies develop more rapidly compared to democracies. In conclusion, it is difficult to establish the connection between growth and the political system. A study showed that, on average, democracies grow faster than autocracies. Democracy is likely to run better in countries that run shared cultures and values. Accountable and transparent government tends to produce better policies than other forms of government. Tyrannies Look stable under a strong man but grind into instability with time. Democracies offer a chance for correction of defective government policies. Government s run through atmospheres of secrecy have little room for fresh ideas. Most mature democracies have taken decades to reach that stage. Most of governments which are a result of politicization have citizenry which has little information on their basic rights. Works Cited Budapest and Kabul. "Crying for freedom A disturbing decline in global liberty prompts some hard thinking about what is needed for democracy to prevail." Democracy's decline 1.1 (2010): 1-8. Print. Piccone, Theodore J. "CURRENT HISTORY." Perilous Times for Latin America 1 (2010): 81-83. Print. Sangmpam, S. N. The Overpoliticized State and Democratization: A Theoretical Model 24.4 (1992): 401-417. Print. Read More