Democracy in Crisis: Working for True Peace and Human Rights

At every corner of the world, democracy is being put to the test.

　

The first Summit for Democracy, hosted online by President Joe Biden, ended on Dec. 10. Leaders from more than 90 countries and regions including Europe, Japan and Taiwan participated in this meeting of unprecedented scope. However, countries that America deems autocratic, such as China and Russia, were not invited. The Biden administration has positioned the world as the battleground for a fight between democracy and authoritarianism, and by concentrating the democracies of the world together with this summit, is aiming to push back the growing tide of autocracy.

China, for its part, has fiercely insisted that the United States is only encouraging factionalism and antagonism, with Xi Jinping’s government launching a smear campaign criticizing America’s democracy while lauding the development of its own. There are few points in history where democracy has been questioned as much as it is now.

Also on Dec. 10, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held in Oslo, Norway. One of the journalists who won the award, Maria Ressa of the Philippines, who confronted government officials to protect freedom of expression, stated, “Without facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth, you can’t have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy.…” Seeing the deterioration of democracy, she demonstrated a determination to pursue the truth, even in the face of danger.

While the summit hosted many discussions about the ideals of democracy, the Biden administration pledged support for independent media and free elections.

The summit was also meant to be a rebirth for democracy, as places that uphold democracy, such as America, Europe and Japan, came together to confront the trials they are facing. In January, supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building to protest his loss in the election. Measures are ramping up to prevent groups such as African Americans from voting as well.

When he was running for election, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned, “Our democracy is on the verge of a crisis.” While he has mentioned the problems caused by those who should be held accountable, his predecessors Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga, this crisis still continues.

What we think of as democracy are political institutions and campaigns that protect the rights and freedoms of the people, with concepts such as free and honest elections, the rule of law and a separation of powers. Before the return of Okinawa to Japan, while it was under American rule, military needs were given first priority. Property rights and basic human rights were often threatened. However, the people of Okinawa used the Japanese constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other resolutions as a basis for gaining their rights.

The political scientist Shigeki Uno writes in his book “What Is Democracy?” that “participation in solving the issues of our society, and through that, questioning those in power” is vital to a democracy. If democracy is in the midst of a crisis, we need to take every opportunity to ask questions and figure out how to save it.