Illiberal Drift Assignment
EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST EUROPE
Illiberal Drift
Liberal democracy has been facing growing stress in East-central and Southeast Europe. The challenge is brought about by the integration into Europe single market since it has failed to bring the prosperity which was hoped for. The factors causing illiberal drift are discussed in this essay.
The illiberal tendencies have taken place in almost all the segments of the society ranging from judiciaries to parliaments, opposition parties, the media, local and regional governments, and private sectors among others. Such a process is what is referred to as illiberal drift since the institutions meant to lead to democracy are not destroyed but are re-interpreted and subjected to changes which draw them away from understanding the institutions leading to democracy. The illiberal drift has been influenced by the social and economic effects of globalization (Mendelski, 2016). Other challenges faced by east-central and southeast Europe include the free movement of labor within the EU. As the labor migrants earn increased income, the developments in their home countries have lagged behind owing to the outflow of the qualified workers. The political transformation has deteriorated in 11out of the 17 countries of this region. Judiciary attacks are also high considering Poland’s president who refuses to swear in the five constitutional Tribunal judges in 2015 (Ágh, pg. 283, 2016). In Kosovo and Bosnia, the political division is rampant. The democracy in elections in most countries is also interfered with by the government leading to unfair elections. Illiberal Drift Assignment
Generally, the region has recorded a significant increase in economic growth. However, it still has not attained the average score according to the BTI. Unemployment rates still remain high due to informal economic sectors. Poverty and income inequalities continue to suppress the region.
WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
Progress at a snail’s pace
West and central Africa have attained a lot in attaining democracy. Various governments are also striving for good governance. However, economic development has remained a challenge. Developments are still very slow evidenced by high rates of unemployment, poverty, and insecurity. The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of the low rate of development in the west and central Africa.
Various factors have lagged this region behind such as war zones and other catastrophes. The period between 2015 and 2017, there were marked wars in these regions which led to the loss of property and lives. Islamic terror has also threatened the peace of many countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. The lack of security slows down developments due to stagnation of business activities and education provision. The region has also been affected by the effects of globalization whereby the countries opted for the integration into the European single market. From the study, it is evident that the region is doing well in promoting democracy. Authority transfers have been peaceful even though some democracies have faults. Price instability for the oil prices has been a challenge hence threatening the socioeconomic development. I recommend that the region invests in attaining regional security in order to stir up economic growth. With peace and stability, people are able to carry out businesses without fears hence growing the economy. It is also advisable that the countries promote democracy in their governments which promotes peace and unity.
Democracy has proved to be the region’s strength despite other challenges. Insecurity and oil price instabilities have dragged the region behind causing high unemployment rates and other challenges, hence ought to be addressed.
ASIA AND OCEANIA
Weakened Democracies, Strengthened Autocracies?
Autocracy has gained powers in this region while democracy has continued to erode. Such a case has caused a decline in economic growth. The governments are responsible for the loss of democracy. In this regard, the region has lagged behind in terms of socioeconomic development. The study aims to evaluate the causes of the decline in economic development in the Asia and Oceania regions.
While the region has 21 countries, few of them such as Singapore and Taiwan have highly developed economies while others such as Nepal and Bangladesh have a low per capita income of about $4,000. Sri Lanka and Taiwan are termed to have success in management transformation which is the reason they lead in economic development. Most of the democracies in the region are illiberal. Autocracy has emerged and gained power evidenced in 12 countries as democracy continues to erode and only witnessed in 9 countries. While the region promotes social and economic transformation, democracy remains a goal. However, Nepal and Myanmar have portrayed a significant improvement in political participation. In order to curb these problems, the other countries should embrace the example set by Sri Lanka to practice democracy. They should also consider the negative impacts of autocracy and embrace democracy to enhance developments.
Autocracy has been a major challenge to this region whereby the political leaders do not allow for the citizen’s opinions. Such is a vice as it contributes to conflicts and misunderstandings hence low developments. However, economic growth in many countries in this region relies on China. Such over-reliance is also risky in case of catastrophes such as wars and natural disasters. Globally, Asia has the best-governed autocracies and worst governed democracies.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Growing Frustration, Lagging Response
In Latin American and the Caribbean, the citizens have witnessed a dissatisfaction in the governance and democracy. In this regard, economic development has been threatened. Little has been experienced in terms of transformation since the BTI 2016. The study seeks to evaluate the causes of economic decline and possible solutions.
Despite the fact that Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay are the top performers in the BTI, they still house the worst examples of political transformation. The region is faced with challenges such as stagnation of economic development in the region since 2010 (Bernhard et al, 2015). Latin America is faced with the challenge of strong and violent drug cartels since cocaine is highly consumed in the region especially in Argentina and Brazil. Murder cases are also on the rise which is a threat to security and civil rights (Itriago, pg. 155, 2016). High social inequality and low productivity also drag the region behind in terms of development. The human rights protection has also declined since 2010 especially in Central America and Mexico. According to the World Bank, 2000 – 2014 was a boom period whereby poverty levels declined from 42% to 23% and rose up again in 2015 to 29% (Brand et al, pg. 20, 2015). However, there is a marked improvement in socioeconomic development since 2006. In this regard, the region should focus on implementing democracy which is a key to economic development and peace. The factors leading to security threat such as drug cartels and other organized crimes should be dealt with to allow peace in the region.
Generally, Latin American and the Caribbean face the challenges of lack of democracy whereby human rights are threatened. In this regard, the citizens do not fully enjoy their freedom hence economic growth has been on the decline. However, there is still a marked increase in economic development.
SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA
A Lost Decade
In the south and East Africa, the BTI indices have continued to decline. In this region, economic development has continued to regress and stagnate owing to low prices in commodities, conflicts, and climate of repression. In other words, poverty and high rates of unemployment are the song of the day in this region. The paper discusses the challenges faced in this region.
The recent past in south and East Africa can be termed as a lost decade considering the declining transformations in the 20 countries. Poverty and unemployment rates are the key indicators of poor transformations in this region. Low prices of commodities in the global market have threatened the economic growth. Violent conflicts have also threatened the economic transformation. For instance, South Sudan’s civil war since 2013 has made the country’s economy to fall leaving the starving population without political forecasts (Koch & Weingart, 2016). Somalia has also lacked peace stability for two decades. Lack of democracy especially during elections is also a challenge. Somalia and Eritrea have a poor state of the economy especially due to the insecurity evident in the countries. Economic development is said to have declined more in the south and East Africa than in any other region in the world (Thomas & Sookrajowa, pg. 40, 2017). In this regard, the countries in this region should embrace the spirit of democracy witnessed in Mauritius and Botswana which have earned them the peace they have. Illiberal Drift Assignment
Generally, according to BTI, the regional scores have declined in 2018 compared with those of 2006 which assess governance, economic, and political transformations. South and East Africa represent 12 bottommost in terms of low-income earners and 8 in the middle class. Democracy has declined in most countries especially during elections while in Mauritius and Botswana it is prospering.
POST-SOVIET EURASIA
A Stable Crisis
Post-Soviet Eurasia has faced various challenges since 2014 owing to the Ukraine conflicts. Russia takes the lead in making political and economic decisions in the region although various countries are attempting to gain their freedom from such bondage. The essay features the economic challenges faced by this region.
The crisis in Ukraine has become a threat to all the countries in the region since is the reference point for politics. The crisis has led to a cold war between the West and Russia. Russia being portrayed as the ruling country in the region, its economic crisis resulting from the drop in oil prices affected the national economies of the post-Soviet Eurasia (Kupatadze, pg. 200, 2015).
The region has faced instabilities in terms of economy and political developments owing to the crisis in Ukraine. Such a situation has caused increased disparities in the region. Ukraine remains the region’s base for transformation. Other challenges facing the region include the fall in prices for the export commodities which threatens the economic development. While the region recorded double-figure growth rates in some decades ago, such a situation has become a thing of the past. Considering the fall to 1% growth rate recorded by Mongolia in 2016 owing to the drop in prices of her major export goods, the GDP has continued to decline (Ademmer, Langbein & Börzel, 2018). However, there is a significant improvement in the governance of the countries which indicates positive progress. I would recommend that the regional governments join hands to embrace transformations and avoid extreme personalization as it is the case in Russia.
Generally, the region relies mostly on Ukraine powers as it dominates the region. Lack of modernization and diversification has remained a great challenge to the region.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AMERICA
Race to the Bottom
The Middle East and North America have been known to experience high economic growth in history. However, according to BTI, the region is recently faced with transformation crisis. The wars in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Libya have been a great blow to the region’s economy. The challenges to the region’s development are discussed in this essay.
One of the challenges includes autocracy which has caused limits in political participation making the country lag behind in terms of economic growth. In most cases, the autocracy kind of leadership deprives the citizens their rights which means they remain repressed and without a say in the political arena. Such a situation has led the region to lack peace and understanding among the citizens and the countries as well. Turkey has recorded a dramatic rate of development owing to her decision to fight against her enemies both within and abroad. However, Tunisia has taken the lead in terms of democratic quality (Halpern, 2015). Nonetheless, the democracy does not provide automatic economic developments as the region is faced with lack of employment opportunities and some other gaps in the regional development. Lebanon used to be the leading country in terms of democracy in the Arab nations. However, its postponement of elections has proved otherwise. Despite the fact that the region has been associated with the slow rate of economic transformations, Iran and Iraq have recorded a slight improvement on the same. Both in Turkey and Tunisia, people are crying out for human dignity and political freedoms from the autocracy.
Generally, the MEANA has no single country that BTI can feature as the best in terms of transformation and management. While some countries perform better in some cases, they turn out to be worst in others.