Human Rights and Democracy

The text presents the failure of west particularly America to spread western democracy and human rights to the east. The writer states that in the 1970's and 1980s more than 50 countries shifted from authoritarian to democratic systems. Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, South Korea, etc are the countries that shifted into the democratic system. Economic development, the policies, and activities of the United States, the major European powers and international institutions were the major reasons for democratization.

Even the Soviet Union collapsed and Baltic Republics began to rule democratically. The writer says that 'Democratic prospects in Muslim countries (republics) are bleak'. There was a flow of democracy all over the world. But, it was a challenging task in Muslim dominated countries to establish.

            America believed that a global democratic revolution was underway and that in short order western concepts of human rights and western forms of political democracy would prevail throughout the world. Bush and Clinton administration of White House made the strategy for the globalization of democracy. The western countries including America took control over economic institutions and gave grants and adds to the developing countries to promote western type human rights and democracy in these countries.

All non-western civilizations were resistant to the pressure from the west. The greatest resistance to western democratization efforts came from Islam and Asia. This resistance was rooted in the border movements of cultural assertiveness embodied in the Islamic Resurgence and the Asian affirmation. The failures of the United States with respect to Asia stemmed primarily from the increasing economic wealth and self-confidence of Asian governments.

One of the Singaporean officials said ' Efforts to promote human rights in Asia must also reckon with the altered distribution of power in the post-cold war world. The ability of Asians governments to resist western human rights pressure was reinforced by several factors. The countries felt west's pressure as an infringement on their sovereignty. It made them be united in a group and opposed the westerners. The growing economic strength helped the Asians countries to check the western pressure on human rights. If democracy comes to additional Asian countries, it will come because the middle class wants it to come.

The ASEAN emerged as a powerful organization maybe the third economic pole3 of the world after USA and EU. When the west talked about military Junta of Myanmar, the ASEAN countries were silent.

The issues on which countries divided along with civilization lines are universality vs cultural relativism with respect to human rights. The relative priority of economic and social rights including the right to development vs political and civil rights, human rights, etc, are the major differences between the western and Asian Islamic blocks. The rising economy and power of Asian countries including China, India, Japan, etc. challenged the west. Thus, American hegemony has been weak along with the EU. The westerners expected that the democratically elected countries would support the westerners' hegemony in business trade and politics. But, the governments became more nationalistic and regional.

The writer says that a popularly elected government in China could be highly nationalistic and anti-western. As western leaders realized that democratic processes in non-western societies often produce governments unfriendly to the west. Resultantly, they try to influence the election instead of promoting democracy.