Achieving Universal Democracy
Over the past quarter century a tide of democracy has washed across the globe, making democratic forms of government pervasive and shifting the balance of power in the world. The Community of Democracies now produces over 90% of the world’s GNP, has by far the most advanced military forces and represents the clear moral vision of virtually every man and woman on earth for self-determination and freedom. The number of fully free countries more than doubled. From Portugal and Spain to Poland and Russia, from Chile to South Africa and on to the Philippines and Indonesia, a quiet, largely nonviolent, and unpredicted revolution has swept across the planet. It is still gathering steam. During 2002, twenty-nine countries demonstrated forward progress in freedom, while eleven countries registered setbacks. Today the majority of the world’s Muslims live in electoral democracies; even Iran’s people, faced with determined and violent opposition, have repeatedly demonstrated at the ballot box and in the streets the universal desire for popular governance. Taiwan has proven that democracy can take root and thrive in a Chinese culture. Eastern Europe has thrown off half a century’s communist conditioning.
Just forty three dictators remain, oppressing a third of the planet’s population and posing the main threat to international peace and prosperity. An arc of tyranny runs unbroken west from North Korea and China, through Central Asia, the Middle East and south to Angola – with just three outlying dictators in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
This progress over the last quarter century gives us confidence that we can finish the job by 2025 – ousting the remaining dictators and creating a 100% democratic world. There is no reason the peoples of the dictatorships still standing should not join the majority who now exercise their right to elect their own leaders, read independent newspapers, join independent trade unions, and practice their faiths in peace and tolerance.
What needs to be done?
First, a new mind-set must be developed among people both inside and outside dictatorships, to accrete a critical mass of real belief that democracy can and will be achieved. The first strategic objective must be to strengthen this conviction, to take as a simple truth that history has demonstrated that it is on the side of freedom, that ordinary people have the power to get rid of their oppressors.
Second, the Community of Democracies must reach out to the democrats inside dictatorships and also establish a dialogue, process and deadline with the dictators themselves to achieve full democracy. One of the paradoxes we face is that dictators take their domestic democratic opponents more seriously than do our “experts”; they know that eventually, if the democrats stay the course, the dictators will lose power.
Third, democrats must develop the political and economic tools and techniques for the nonviolent overthrow of their oppressors. The past quarter century abounds with examples: Indonesian students filling the streets against Suharto; the predominantly young people of Poland's Solidarity trade union movement who pushed out Wojciech Jaruzelski; the Hungarian students who got the barbed wire cut along the Austrian border; the young East Germans who ripped down the Berlin Wall. Lessons can be learned.
Removal of dictators is first and foremost a domestic political matter, undertaken by the people living under tyranny. Over the past quarter century we have seen repeated successes due overwhelmingly to a change in domestic consciousness, strategic organization, and coordinated, mostly nonviolent action. What is not always so clear is the critical part played by the international community. Indeed, it is remarkable that the relatively small efforts of outside democrats had such a significant impact. Imagine what outsiders could do with a creative strategy backed with money and determination.
We recommend the following Action Agenda for consideration as just such a strategy.
Action Agenda
T
he twenty-first century presents us with two possible scenarios: with and without dictators. We need to:
aIncrease understanding that dictators could make the twenty-first century even bloodier than they made the twentieth century.
a Dramatize the benefits for peace, prosperity and freedom of a world without dictators.
We must achieve a conceptual breakthrough – a conviction that all dictators can be ousted within one more generation.
aEducate the entire world about the huge number of dictators ousted over the last generation and the methods used.
aRedefine national security/power as spread of democracy and alliances among democracies.
aSet goal of ousting all dictators by 2025.
A new architecture of international power should be built to achieve this goal.
aThe Community of Democracies and NATO need to be transformed into a global democratic alliance, with on-call forces, regional programs, and caucuses within existing international organizations.
aDictatorship must be declared a crime against humanity and remaining dictators prosecuted before international tribunals.
aNon-governmental democrats inside dictatorships must be organized and recognized as the legitimate voice of their peoples.
Opening up, not walling off, closed societies is a key to success.
aNew policy and budget priority should be given to opening and dictator-ousting programs.
aThe classic opening programs should be refocused and new programs created, for example an Independent Television and Radio Fund.
aPrivate foundations and businesses need a much bolder focus on democracy promotion.
In a major innovation, we should institute democracy development plans and programs for each of the remaining dictatorships. The plans should include:
aEnsuring they complete three stages of democratic growth by an agreed date.
aCreating an autonomous International Dictatorship-to-Democracy Center under the Community of Democracy and United Nations sponsorship to conduct these programs.
aMaking indigenous democrats central players through roundtables and other devices.
A democracy-centered diplomacy transforms its embassies into Freedom Houses and its ambassadors into freedom fighters by.
aVisibly supporting the democrats—meetings with them, symbolic events, marches, campaign buttons, electronic billboards.
aHolding regular fireside chats with each subject people via radio, television, Internet by ambassadors, presidents/prime ministers/parliamentarians.
aPursuing dialogue with the dictator and regime about transition and exit.
While force is sometimes needed, we must enhance understanding of the nature and power of nonviolent conflict in ousting dictators.
aThe track record is impressive; the skills can be taught.
aTeach the strategy and tactics for a two-stage nonviolent campaign to oust a dictator.
aEmphasize the critical role for outsiders to play.
It is important to focus attention on each of the Last Forty-five as an individual dictator; dictators should not be allowed to hide behind a regime or culture or country.
aDo an annual report on each of the Least Wanted and publicize widely, in key languages.
aDevelop and keep updated a criminal indictment for each.
Develop a comprehensive action plan for every one of the regions and countries still suffering from dictators combining all of the recommended elements.
aRecognize that highest priorities should be given to the largest remaining problems: the Greater Middle East and China.
aWork with varying coalitions of interested democratic nations and democrats.
aFocus sanctions on the dictators, not the peoples.
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The Community of Democracies must adopt this common goal: All Dictators Out by 2025. It must then use its majority within the United Nations to have this goal and program adopted as a matter of binding international policy and law. Ousting dictators must be brought from the fringes to the center of national-security and foreign policy. Progress over the last generation is encouraging. Now let us decide to finish the job.
It is not enough to be outraged by the deaths of two million North Koreans, starved by a dictator’s thirst for opulence and eternal power; the dictator must be forced to step down. We cannot accept as legitimate a dictator who ordered the deaths of thousands whose only “crime” was practicing China’s oldest form of spiritual and physical exercise. We cannot stand idly by as dictators develop weapons of mass destruction and share them with other dictators, and fuel and support terrorism—which they will do for as long as they remain in power. It is time that these dangerous political relics went extinct. We must finally say enough is enough—and mean it. We must join together the world’s democracies and democrats to oust the last dictators and build universal democracy.
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