America’s Democratic Reckoning

I am not sure whether the current manifestation of the American political system reflects a systemic decline or merely a temporary ebb. The American system is undoubtedly robust; it has endured the test of time for more than two centuries. Its Constitution has served as a guiding treatise for a successful democracy, incorporating the famed formulas of thinkers such as John Locke and Montesquieu.

What has gone wrong with the United States should be a cause of serious concern for democracies across the world. One point that comes to mind is that although the United States was a great democracy, it did little to nurture democracy as a struggling global phenomenon. Indeed, it often acted in ways that weakened it. If, for instance, democracy thrives in India, it is despite the actions and inactions of the Western world. In the end, karma has a way of catching up.

Any democracy, if it is to evolve in the course of democratisation, requires a conducive democratic ecology. No country, not even America, can endure as a democracy within a global environment that is non-democratic or hostile to democracy.

A more immediate cause of the American reactionary approach is its diminishing confidence in being the economic giant far ahead of any other national economy. Its economy is becoming increasingly constrained in its ability to sustain its superpower infrastructure and global manoeuvres. The present mood is more of a knee-jerk reaction to reality than a willingness to accept the inevitable and contribute to a rational and fair world order. If people do not choose wisdom, the times are bound to teach a cruel lesson.

Niraj Kumar Jha