If democracies don’t deliver, people will rebel
As thousands gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square for yet another day of demonstrations aimed at driving out Egypt's first democratically elected President, across the world, in Rio, anti-Government protesters clashed with police as they rose in opposition to their President whom they had voted to power. Meanwhile, embers still burnt in Istanbul's Taksim Square where too citizens had recently taken to the streets against their leader — also one that they themselves had brought to power. Much of this, of course, has been playing out against the backdrop of the ‘Arab Spring'. But while that movement was rooted in the citizenry's demand for freedom from dictatorial regimes, what explains the public unrest in Egypt, Brazil and Turkey or even Russia where popularly elected Governments are at the helmIJ look at Egypt which stands at the crossroads of dictatorship and democracy. It overthrew the autocratic administration of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and voted to power Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi in 2012 hoping that he would lead them into a new era of social freedom, political representation and economic well-being. But not only did President Morsi fail to offer good governance, he abused his mandate to grab dictatorial powers and push the agenda of his Islamist colleagues. This attitude of elected leaders who view their election as a “writ to do whatever they want once in office”, as commentator Thomas Friedman puts it, is the hallmark of an “illiberal, majoritarian democracy” — which seems to have struck roots not just in Egypt but also in Turkey, Brazil and Russia, albeit in different degrees.
In each of these countries, elected representatives have failed to represent people’s interest, and have instead furthered their own. In Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans to bring back Ottoman glory by erecting a mosque in a public park not only riled environmentalists but his refusal to consider public opinion brought out all those who had had enough of his ‘authoritarian’ ways. In Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff's decision to hike public transport costs even as her Government spent billions on gala sporting events led to nationwide protests, which gained strength from a festering disappointment with a political class perceived as self-serving.
Interestingly, while public anger against Prime Minister Erdogan had been rising for sometime now, popular opinion against President Rousseff turned in a matter of weeks. The alarming speed at which public grievances turn into protest actions today is a direct consequence of the proliferation of communication technologies. Social media has made it easy for the common man to mobilise as a collective, and as more people gain access to such technology, there will be more such protests. This is also true for robust democracies such as the US where the Occupy Wall Street movement shook the Obama Administration last year. Elected leaders across the free world will have to listen to their people and deliver tangible results. President Rousseff seems to have realised this already, having promised wide-ranging reforms; Prime Minister Erdogan, however, has bloodied his hands while President Morsi's decision to stay put may eventually cost Egypt its fledgling democracy.