The Hindu Business Line : US push for democracy

WINSTON Churchill once said that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried"! But the Bush ddministration would have none of this banter. It is strongly convinced that forcefully thrusting a generous mouthful of democracy down the throat of the world is the best antidote to terrorism, the best guarantee of US security, and the best remedy for the world's ills.

It has even made the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, commit himself, in the joint statement following his recent meeting with President Bush, to a US-India Global Democracy Initiative (among other things). Right now, its focus is on the countries in West Asia since it regards them as a "swamp" breeding terrorism, which can be cleansed only by a spray of the Western style democracy.

When will the US cease to be self-centred and realise the futility of finding scapegoats outside of itself? Survey after survey of opinion within the Islamic countries has brought out unmistakably that the mainspring of terrorism is the intense resentment against the range of policies pursued by the US in a manner perceived to be arrogant.

In fact, a majority of those polled was clear that the real motive of the US was not implanting of democracy, but acquiring its stranglehold over oil, bolstering Israel and dominating Islamic countries. The US will, therefore, be committing a blunder if it gets fixated on democracy, ignoring the suspicion and hostility provoked by its policies.

Even as a hypothesis, the proposition that democracy defuses terrorism does not hold water. Several well-documented studies, including an article in the September-October 2005 issue of Foreign Affairs, have found no basis for assuming any correlation between democracy, or any other regime type, and terrorism, in either a positive or a negative direction.

The article, in fact concludes, that, "terrorism springs from sources other than the form of government of a state. There is no reason to believe that a more democratic Arab world will, simply by virtue of being more democratic, generate fewer terrorists."

What the US needs is a lot of self-introspection, a sense of humility and a willingness to show respect for the susceptibilities of other countries.

B. S. Raghavan

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Challenges and change in Persian Gulf — Why India needs a "Look West" policy

Redrawing the regulatory line

Communicate more, commute less

Manufacturing excellence in India — Implications for a rapidly integrating economy

US push for democracy

If Katrina escapes retirement, it may figure in the 2011 list of scheduled hurricanes

Reforms that create assets

No merger proposal

Going corporate