Democracies and Struggles, Essay Example

In the recent The Economist article[1], the authors state that struggle for democracy does not necessarily end in improved freedom and wealth of countries. Reflecting on the recent events in Ukraine, the article states that often “The new regime stumbles, the economy flounders and the country finds itself in a state at least as bad as it was before”[2]. While many governments focus on the instrument of change (overturning the government), they fail to keep the end goal in mind. The end goal should be to improve social justice, empower individuals, and promote fairness, based on democratic values.

The truth is that even the West struggles with embracing traditional democratic values. The newly elected leader of the British Labor party, Jeremy Corbyn[3] said he wanted a “change in the way we do politics… Politics that’s kinder, more inclusive. Bottom up, not top down. In every community and workplace, not just in Westminster.”[4]. This, indeed, is what people in Ukraine and Syria want. Not only the end of the war, but also opportunities.

People in Syria do not only want to overturn Isis: they want a new social order.[5]. Likewise, Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenkotold The Washington Post that his country is fighting for global democracy and freedom[6].

It is important to ensure that politicians focus on the end goals, instead of the fight and the power struggle, as the above examples showed. Promoting values and changing societies should be in the focus of international organizations supporting nations struggling to achieve democracy.

[1] The editors of The Economist.“What’s Gone Wrong With Democracy” 2014.

[2] Ibid, 1.

[3] Corbyn, J. “Labour party conference speech 2015”. 2015. http://press.labour.org.uk/post/130135691169/speech-by-jeremy-corbyn-to-labour-party-annual (Accessed: 10/1/2015)

[4] Ibid

[5] Mironova, V., Mrie, L. and Whitt, S. “Syria’s Democracy Jihad” Foreign Affairs. 2015. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2015-01-13/syrias-democracy-jihad(Accessed: 10/1/2015)

[6]  Ibid.