A different perspective on democracy

Wang Huiyao (AFP/Xinhua/Hou Dongtao)

Wang Huiyao, the founding president of the influential Chinese think tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG), summarised in late February his perspective on the West’s approach to geopolitics in an opinion piece, which more broadly reflects the typical thinking of Chinese leadership and society.

The opinion piece, published in South China Morning Post, was written on the occasion of the Munich Security Conference to highlight the divergence between the narratives of the Western political elite and the rest of the world. Moreover, Wang points out that the Western public does not necessarily welcome the bloc-building along the lines of political systems (democracy versus autocracy).

Wang, who addressed the Magyar Nemzeti Bank’s Eurasia Forum in Budapest two times, notes that in the wake of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the “Chinese threat”, the West has awakened to a new sense of mission: to draw a line between democracies and autocracies. However, this interpretation of global processes does not align with the emerging countries’ understanding or even reality.

Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Chen Yehua

Surveys in China, India, South Africa and elsewhere show that societies there are more likely to perceive a divide between “rich and poor countries” and that the perception of a “democratic-autocratic” divide is not even dominant among the populations of the G7. Indeed, welfare considerations and climate change are proving more relevant than political arrangements worldwide. Nor can the international community be divided into a single “democratic” and “autocratic” camp on issues such as the condemnation of Russia and the application of sanctions.

This is illustrated by the democratic South African Republic and India not lining up behind the various statements condemning Moscow. Meanwhile, not all countries considered authoritarian support Vladimir Putin. The imposition of sanctions is also a very mixed picture. Singapore, for example, has joined the punitive measures against Russia, while Israel has not.

Wang concludes that the West alienates other societies by imposing its own narrative. This simplistic worldview also prevents it from addressing the international challenges that most people face (e.g. energy, inflation). This approach can be replaced by recognising the multipolar and networked nature of the 21st century. The most important long-term problems to be solved, economic and public health and environmental sustainability, require a joint effort by all nations, regardless of their political system.

From geurasia， 2023-5-13