#BTColumn – Being guardians of democracy

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Guy Hewitt

The January 19 General Election will be significant on several levels. On a personal level, given my commitment to our fair land being unable to come home to participate is a considerable challenge.

At the level of inclusiveness, the country goes to the polls with females leading the two major parties, a historic occurrence nationally and internationally. At the level of political participation, voters seem dispirited by the options available to them. Voter turnout is a major concern.

Globally, democracy is under pressure. The Global State of Democracy Report 2021, published by a Sweden-based Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), highlights what it calls “democratic erosion” – that is, the process by which democratic institutions, norms, and values are being slowly worn down.

According to IDEA, “the quality of democracy continues to travel a very visible downward path across the board”. According to the Report, democratic governments have been mimicking the practices of authoritarian regimes and this “democratic backsliding” is “threatening to become a different kind of pandemic.”

The process is different for each country, and it is often hard to recognise because it happens under the guise of a healthy, fully functioning democracy. However, one of the hallmarks of democratic erosion is that governments use mechanisms associated with democracy to undermine it from within – authoritarianism by stealth. Examples include manipulating elections to consolidate control rather than provide for a meaningful contest; libel laws used to intimidate and silence;
or co-opting the judiciary.

I believe we are at a watershed in our politics. We need to work on democracy in Barbados, reaffirming the type of governance we want for the future. As one of the oldest democracies, Barbados has been a beacon in the region, the Commonwealth and beyond. But as with the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy history does not make us immune to the threat many countries now face.

I encourage Bajans to get out and vote. I share the belief that “voting is a civic sacrament.”  It is an expression of a commitment to self, neighbours, and country. In our journey as a nation many people sacrificed much for us to have a political voice and as such, we should use it. When we don’t vote, we ignore our history and abandon our future.

However, I don’t believe a low poll is because people don’t care but that they feel disenfranchised. When someone looks at their life and feel like nothing that the Government is doing or the way the system is working is positively impacting on them and those they love, it is understandable persons could feel disenchanted and cynical about politics, democracy and Government. However, we must keep hope alive.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has made democracies more fragile than they have been for a long time. On a global level, the handling of the pandemic and restrictions on civil liberties have eroded public trust. With another surge in COVID cases in Barbados, if a high voter turnout is sought, it will be crucial for vigilant health and safety precautions to be instituted at polling stations and publicised.

Political skepticism is also fueled by the exponential growth in online political campaigning. The early utopianism of the Internet, particularly social media as ‘liberation technology’ assuming that the huge global increase in connectivity would be good for democracy, has waned. Optimism has faded as the list of known social media harms to democracy including election interference, online disinformation, targeted ads, and related phenomena have grown.

The 2016 digital disruption of democracy in terms of the

UK Brexit vote and the US presidential election along with a variety of other elections have become a global concern. The spread of digital technologies is happening faster than the knowledge and efforts to apply them in ways that support rather than weaken democracy.

There is also a dangerous link in politics between power and hubris which accelerates democratic erosion. Lord David Owen, a neurologist and former UK Secretary for State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in his book In Sickness and in Power: Illnesses in Heads of Government during the Last 100 Years, wrote on the “hybris syndrome”, the “dark side to power, and its mind-changing effects on the people who hold it”, particularly political leaders, specifically heads of government.

Owen builds on the notion of the “intoxication of power” – that is, that something can happen to a person’s mental stability when in power. Historically observed, Owen notes that, “Power is a heady drug, which not every leader has the necessary rooted character to counteract.”

We need to abandon the ‘great leader’ syndrome, looking to specific men and women to be the agents of our destiny and instead accept our collective responsibility to write our history’s page.

Democracy cannot be taken for granted. Across the world, democracies are in serious need of repair to fix multiple weaknesses and deficiencies. Barriers to participation, political polarisation and toxic politics seem to have become a global phenomenon. This robs democratic systems of some essential ingredients – trust, engagement, consensus building, and accommodating diverse opinions – that make them work.

Democratic erosion also threatens the economy and financial systems. Capitalism, when balanced by a democratically elected, transparent and capable government, and supported by a strong civil society, is best able to realise stable growth and greater social wellbeing.

Conversely, threats to democracy are threats to the private sector, which is why business leaders cannot afford to remain on the sidelines when such threats emerge.

As we seek to consolidate our Independence and sustain our democracy, we need to strengthen our systems of accountability whether parliamentary and judicial oversight, pressures from civil society and the media, or competition between parties and within parties. If freedom is to reign, each of us must act as a guardian of our democracy. May the Lord continue to be the people’s guide.

Guy Hewitt resides in the US serving God while remaining committed to Barbados and the DLP.