KUALA LUMPUR: Although experts may say that the number of countries that qualify as democracies or semi-democracies in the world are at its highest today, it is undeniable that is it still a challenging task as many democracies are in distress, some in serious disarray.
Former Indonesian president, Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said even the latest countries that had joined democratic transitions - the so-called Arab Spring countries - were still struggling to achieve stability, unity and growth.
“Extremism and internal conflicts are still problematic. Some established democracies are experiencing economic gloom.
“Low confidence in leadership is commonplace, and in some democracies, restlessness has replaced national self-esteem.
“Parochial sentiments are growing, as reflected in growing xenophobia and Islamophobia,” he said during his opening address at the "Democracy in Southeast Asia: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects’ forum.
He reminded that while it was tempting to expect that the bleak state of today's democracy would continue, he said it was vital for governments to understand the challenges democracy was facing today.
“There are attempts to return to authoritarianism or I would call it a setback of democracy. There is clearly an attempt to swing the pendulum back towards authoritarianism.
“There are growing doubts about the necessity and merit of democracy. If this trend gains momentum, it is possible that we will see the reversal of democratic expansion that we have seen in recent decades,” he said.
Governments, he said, needed to seriously examine the impact of something that previous generations could neither experience nor imagine - the rise of fake news in politics and its spread at blinking speed.
“Yes, lies and fabrication have always been part of politics. But information technology and social media have made this problem rise to a new level and scope. This is not something that will go away any time soon," he said.
“No one quite knows how to deal with it. What is certain is that this problem of fake news will reduce the quality of our politics and the quality of our democracy. It may also reduce people's trust both in our leaders and in our media.”
Susilo noted that the rise of populism was another factor to watch for.
“I would like to remind this forum that populism is a double-edge sword.
“It can serve good purpose, or advance bad intention. It can charm as much as it can harm.
“A populist leader may try earning his political stock by going the extra mile to deliver public services to please his constituents. In this way, this positive populism is a good thing.
“But a populist leader may also appeal to the dark side of power by committing short-sighted acts that would excite the people but harm democracy and human rights. Such negative populism would not be a good thing,” he said.
Susilo also warned governments to expect that narrow nationalism and xenophobia will continue to rise.
“This is mainly due to severe economic stress both in developed and developing countries which in some places will induce social resentments towards outsiders.
“Social resentments divide the society. They break social fabric that may end in violent social conflicts.
“Security concerns such as terrorist attacks will also spark negative sentiments towards certain groups of people.
“Demagogues will become more vocal, and more people will accept their message. And good relations between countries may also be affected,” he said.
In an ideal situation, he said democracy cultivates the culture of tolerance, while in return tolerance gives air to democracy.
“But I am afraid that we are now at the brink of abnormal circumstances. Thus it is important for political leaders across national borders to reach out to one another and to support one another in favour of open, inclusive, moderate nationalism.
“It is important for them to feel that they are not
alone in their quest for political decency,” he said.
He reminded that when states were seizing too much power to impose their interests and wants, they had the tendency to abuse it.
“There is a need to provide ample space for freedom to grow in society. There is no doubt freedom is essential to everyone.
“However, too much freedom can allow you to infringe on the freedom of another person as well as disturb good governance.
“When politics become too noisy, a government will not function well and effectively. In short, excessive freedom will create instability,” he said.