The Importance of Democracy in International Relations - Coursework Example

 Liberalism and Democracy Liberalism refers to the state of being open to change and progress. It contrasts with conservatism, which refers to the efforts to safeguard traditions and resist new ideas. Throughout history, liberalists have been advocating individual liberty, free markets, and less government roles. Liberals are against absolutism. They also believe in the freedom of citizens to do anything legal on the market. Democracy advocates bestowing power on the people. It assumes that people have the ability to control their lives and make decisions about matters that affect them. Decision making in a democracy is based on majority rule and the rights of the minorities are protected. A democratic government guarantees equality of all citizens, freedom of speech, assembly and religion, among others. Liberal states are not necessarily democratic (Bobbio 2006: 1). Liberalists strongly emphasize on democracy. The concentration of power and wealth among few people in the society is not good as it brings about many social evils. Democracy has various benefits. It ensures that all citizens are treated equally before the law. It also gives every citizen the right to power. Therefore, anyone can seek an elective post in government. Democracy helps in distributing power to the people. It allows disgruntled voters to vote to change the leadership. A few years ago, democracy used to exist in Western Europe and Northern America only while the other states were not democratic or liberal. However, today many states are democratic. Democracy is the basis for economic and social development. It enhances the development of a nation by making leaders accountable, and therefore helps in fighting vices like corruption. Inefficient leaders are voted out by the electorate and if the leaders who replace them wish to stay in power, they have to meet the expectations of the public. Failure to perform will lead to ouster from office in the next election. Democracy also helps in the even distribution of wealth (Bobbio 2006: 38). The wealthy conservatives in power dislike democracy because they see it as a way to help the poor to rob the rich. However, liberalists maintain that without democracy, the poor are exploited by the rich. Liberalism is concerned with limiting the powers of the government. Democracy considers the opinion of the majority as the only criteria to ensure that the government powers are legitimate. Liberalists strongly advocate the strengthening of democratic institutions. They advocate national referendums, compulsory voting, comprehensive registration of voters, and direct voting on legislation. Successful democracy largely depends on whether the electorate is well informed to participate. For instance, for the public to vote directly on legislation instead of government representatives, they have to be well informed about the policies of the government (Bobbio 2006: 17). Liberalism advocates the right of an individual and not the society to make certain decisions, while democracy assigns the majorities the power to make decisions. Liberalism and democracy need to be balanced. Liberal democracies allow all adults to vote. Even though adopting liberal ideologies bring about democracy, democracy has some limitations. Democracy cannot promote liberalism if the majority uses its power to grant special benefits to the supporters of the majority only and not to all citizens. Therefore, unlimited democracy is not compatible with liberalism as it will disregard the principles of liberalism, and instead adopt biased measures that will benefit the groups that support the majority. Moreover, if democracy abandons the principles of liberalism, democracy itself will not thrive. Democracy can turn out to be totalitarianism if the majority uses their power to violate the minorities’ rights by destroying their chances to become the majority (Bobbio 2006: 52). Importance of Democracy in International Relations Democracy is an important tool in nurturing healthy relations between states. Democracy has international benefits of preventing manipulation of some states by others. It enhances international cooperation by enabling nations to work together and to forge strong relationships. Democracy can only work if all the governments objectively observe the rule of law. Failure of some states to comply will lead to the breakdown of the system. Democracy can only have an impact on international relations if it is able to transform inter-state relations and also if it is able to spread to the most powerful nations or to the whole international system. Democracy in international relations can be successful if liberal principles are embraced worldwide or at least by the powerful states (Ray 1998: 6). Democracy should govern the relations among individual members of the state and the same should apply in inter-state relations. Citizens should be allowed to make decisions on matters affecting them in the foreign policy, for instance, placing nuclear arms in other self-governing nations. Wealthy nations should not expect other nations to accept the decisions they make on foreign policy without allowing them to take part. Democracy in international relations will ensure that the people in all states will be consulted on international matters and be allowed to make decisions, and therefore the economically strong states will not be able to exploit and dominate the weaker states. Without democracy, foreign states will dominate weaker sovereign states. All citizens must be allowed to exercise their sovereign will (Kochler 1986: 12). Democracy is important because if restores international peace. Immanuel Kant associated democracy with peace. He suggested that countries do not go to war against each other if they are democratic. Liberal democracies are transparent systems and do not support going to war against other countries without the citizens getting convinced that the war is necessary and just. In undemocratic states, the government can manipulate the media and the citizens and convince them to go to war with other states. Moreover, democratic states are usually wealthier and therefore going to war with other countries means that they will lose more. Besides, democratic leaders prefer to use dialogue and discussion to resolve conflicts instead of using weapons. Therefore, states that are democratic are less likely to engage in war with others (Ray 1998: 2). Democracy is important in international relations, especially regarding the relations about the rule of law among self-governing nations. The international law should entail human rights, including economic and social rights. There is a need for international relations to be governed by the respect of the rights of sovereignty and freedom of each state to determine its foreign policy without any interference from outside. Inter-state relations should be governed by the principle of equality. Democracy ensures that international relations are not shaped by states that are economically powerful (Kochler 1986: 11). Democracy also fosters international development. When the rights of citizens are respected by the state, the citizens are more productive and creative and they develop a social and economic environment that is attractive to investors. This enhances the economic development of the nation. Democracy also allows people to run the government. In undemocratic states, voters are rarely included in decision making on matters regarding inter-state affairs. Most of the voters have little interest and knowledge of international affairs because they think they do not affect them. However, the public gets interested in international matters that threaten them such as famine, nuclear disasters, and war between states. Increased democracy has led to the public engagement in deliberation, give opinions and take action regarding some issues in the foreign policy. Democracy has enabled increased transparency and media reporting on matters of foreign policy (Ray 1998: 20). The United Nations advocates the equality of all the member states, even though they are not equal in wealth, power, and size. International organizations that make decisions affecting people such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank, among other institutions, should embrace democracy by allowing people to express their opinions and views and taking them into consideration. The Organization of African Unity has embraced democracy by refusing to admit leaders who use undemocratic means to get to power. Other bodies like the United Nations should follow this example in order to encourage democracy in the member states. The United Nations should strive to democratize international relations through negotiation and dialogue in order for every person and state to live peacefully. When there is democracy in international relations, people live harmoniously with freedom, justice, dignity, and respect of the autonomy of all states in the world (Kochler 1986: 40). Democracy is important in building relationships between states and defining the roles of international organizations such as the United Nations, multinational corporations, and nongovernmental organizations. It is important in offering an efficient method of peaceful resolution of disputes in an atmosphere that is free from discrimination and injustice. Failure to treat people fairly makes them lose trust in democratic institutions. The existence of democracy within and among states will make it possible to come up with efficient international laws and consequently there will be peace among the nations. Democracy will thrive if everyone is represented and allowed to voice their opinions and if there is protection of the rights of even the weakest state. Democracy in international relations will be achieved if people embrace political, social, cultural, economic, and civil justice (Kochler 1986: 21). Reference List Bobbio, N 2006, Liberalism and Democracy, UK, Verso. Kochler, H 1986, Democracy in International Relations, New York, International Progress Organization. Ray, J 1998, Democracy and International Conflict: An Evaluation of the Democratic Peace Proposition, Columbia, University of South Carolina Press. Read More