Defending democracy the greatest cause of our times
- William Gumede
Challenge for young people is to democratise every aspect of life in society.
Defending democracy could be likened to the fight against colonialism and apartheid, and is one of the greatest causes of our times that young people must devote themselves to.
In South Africa, Africa and across the globe there is an undeclared war within countries between those who support democracy and the forces of authoritarianism. The challenge for young people is to defend democracy against its opponents at home and abroad.
Almost all of Africa’s governance systems that dictate people’s day-to-day life, such as traditional systems, religious systems, communal beliefs have deeply autocratic elements which are competing with democracy. Africa’s dominant political systems, such as military rulers, dictators and dominant parties, are in many authoritarian, competing with democracy. Africa’s dominant political ideologies, such as African-style socialism, populism and tribalism also compete with democracy.
In many African countries, political parties are organized along tribal lines, whether based on ethnic, religious, or regional tribal lines. Whenever one ethnic, religious, or regional group has national political power, they often exclude others. Sadly, voters often also vote along ethnic, religious and regional lines. Such ethnic, religious and regional divisions undermine democracy.
For another, in African-style populism, minorities, non-nationals or foreigners or former colonial powers are often blamed for self-inflected governing failures. In African-style populism there is often scapegoating of one ethnic community, for the lack of advancement of another community.
Many African liberations and independence movements, have ideologies based on African-style socialism and are often organized along democratic centralism lines, which stipulates that when the party leadership decides, all members and supporters must follow uncritically. These African liberations and independence movements see their party constitutions, structures, and cultures above their country's Constitutions, democratic institutions, and laws. This, of course, undermines democracy.
All of Africa’s governance systems, dominant political systems and ideologies are all underpinned by patriarchy. Patriarchy is based on gender inequality, social status inequality between elites and ordinary citizens, and discrimination against the youth. Patriarchy undermines equality, which underpins democracy.
Many African countries have African-style “democracy”, whereby countries are declared democratic based narrowly only on whether elections take place. Such African-style democracy has not only undermined genuine democracy building, but has also increased ethnic divisions and retarded development.
Intimate, personal, and communal relations in almost all African countries are based on patriarchy, whereby women and young people must defer to men. The basis of African societies is therefore deeply undemocratic.
The challenge for young people is to give life to democracy by democratising every aspect of life in society, to foster a democratic culture, where widely shared democratic beliefs, values, and commitments in a country ‘shape how individuals and the society act’.
One of the reasons why democracy has not taken a stronger foothold in South Africa and many parts of Africa is that many countries, beyond ritual elections, have not transformed their move to democratise their societies.
Youth across the African continent has often been at the forefront of campaigning for democracy, mainly to force out authoritarian regimes and leaders and force democratic change.
Because of patriarchy in all of Africa’s governance, cultural and religious systems, young leaders rarely rise to the top of politics. Although constrained by patriarchy, the continent has nevertheless recently seen the rise of dynamic younger leaders.
Although African youth have successfully mobilised across the continent to push out autocratic leaders and regimes, they have not often prioritised democratising the entire society. Young people must fight to democratise every aspect of life, whether their intimate relations, religious, traditional, and political institutions are involved.
Young people should fight to democratise authoritarian aspects of African governance systems such as customary law, sharia law, traditions, and communal beliefs. These African governance systems must either be abolished or democratised to align them with human rights, gender, social and generational equality. Young people should fight patriarchy in all spheres of life.
The youth must also battle appeals to ethnic mobilisation, regional-based mobilisation, and religious mobilisation – which have undermined democracy building across the continent. They must fight tribalism of any kind. Young people must also fight xenophobia – the phenomenon of blaming those different from themselves or foreign for self-inflicted problems, or the idea that by excluding one community, another will prosper.
Young people must eschew populism – which is a major obstacle to democracy on the continent.
Many aspects of intimate, family and communal relations’ conventions, traditions and values are autocratic, undermining dignity and human rights. Young people must battle the undemocratic aspects of intimate, family, and communal relations’ conventions, into which many individuals are socialised, culturalized and traditionalised into from birth.
The answer for African countries is not less democracy, but better-quality democracy, which is societies where all aspects of life are democratised.
William Gumede is Associate Professor, School of Governance, Wits University and Founder and Executive Chairperson of the Democracy Works Foundation.
This is an edited extract, published in the Sowetan, of Gumede’s public discussion with National Public Prosecuting Authority head Adv. Shamila Batohi at Stellenbosch University’s annual Centre for Student Leadership, Experiential Education & Citizenship’s Van Zyl Slabbert Honorary Lecture, which was delivered by Adv. Shamila Batohi.