International Day of Democracy in the Time of the Pandemic: 15 September
UN Secretary-General António Guterres: "As the world confronts
COVID-19, democracy is crucial in ensuring the free flow of information,
participation in decision-making and accountability for the response to
the pandemic." MORE
Unter Bezug
auf das Forum Internationale Wissenschaft (Uni Bonn) sei hingewiesen
auf das 2021 erschienene Buch von Anna L. Ahlers,
Damien Krichewsky, Evelyn Moser und Rudolf Stichweh (Mitglieder der
Abteilung für Demokratieforschung) ›Democratic and Authoritarian Political
Systems in 21st Century World Society‹ (open access). Besonders empfohlen
sei der Beitrag von Rudolf Stichweh und Anna L. Ahlers "The
Bipolarity of Democracy and Authoritarian Political Systems and Its Societal
Origins" (S. 210-240).
The former parliamentarians organizations from Europe (FA-AP), USA (FMC) and Canada (ICAFP/ACEP) agreed on an APPEAL FOR DEMOCRACY AND DIALOGUE on 05/02/2021.
The 3
Associations are deeply concerned about recent attacks on democracy in America
and dangerous tendencies in Europe. They deplore: "Conspiracy theories,
unprecedented baiting against the results of democratic elections, spread of
fake news despite clear evidence, the misuse of fears of an invisible pandemic
and the culmination through a brutal and violent mob put the fragile democracy
at risk. Our common democratic values are under threat." For them
democracy "is the prerequisite for rule of law, the respect of human
rights and the protection of the weak ones in our societies. It is the
guarantor of inviolability of human dignity, freedom, gender equality,
tolerance, freedom of religious belief, respect for minorities, cultural
diversity, and peace." Therefore, they forged an Appeal for Democracy and Dialogue, committing themselves to defend democracy whenever and wherever it is
at risk and to closely cooperate for this aim - and inviting all associations
of former parliamentarians to join this Appeal. (FP-AP Honorary President Uwe Holtz
translated the whole Appeal into German)
Call to Defend
Democracy
It is important to reinforce democracy’s resilience now and in a post-pandemic world.
The COVID-19 pandemic
threatens more than the lives and the livelihoods of people throughout the
world. It is also a political crisis. Repression will not help to control the pandemic.Democracies do not
guarantee competent leadership and effective governance; but they are best suited
to addressing a crisis of the magnitude and complexity of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 crisis is an
alarming wake-up call. Authoritarians around the world see this crisis as a new
political battleground in their fight to stigmatize democracy as feeble
and reverse its dramatic gains of the past few decades. Democracy is under threat, and people who care about it must summon the
will, the discipline, and the solidarity to defend it. At stake are the
freedom, health, and dignity of people everywhere. The recent Call to Defend
Democracy, supported
by Uwe Holtz, was launched in this spirit. It encourages people and
decision-makers to resist authoritarian
temptations and to back democratic systems that uphold
human rights in these difficult times, too. The Call, initiated by
International IDEA (the Stockholm based Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance), was signed by almost 100 organizations from all
over the
world, as well as nearly 500 prominent individuals from 119 countries,
including 13 Nobel Laureates and 62 former Heads of State or Government. [Aufruf auf Deutsch]
Read also
the Policy Paper: Global
Democracy & COVID-19: Upgrading International Support (published 15 July 2020).
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