International Day of Democracy
From BDPWiki
Summary of September 12 Round Table Discussion
Media:News Update on Round Table Discussion
The first International Day of Democracy, September 15, 2008: International Round Table on Democracy for Development/Development for Democracy
As part of a number of events to celebrate the first International Day of Democracy, a Round Table meeting, jointly co-organised by UNDP, UN Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA), and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) was held in New York on 12 September.
The purpose of the event was to discuss the nexus between development and democracy, analyse the impact of democracy on development, and that of development on democracy. Specifically, the meeting sought to identify potential policy areas for multilateral action – especially by the UN system – that enhance sustainable development processes within a democratic governance context.
In his opening remarks, Olav Kjorven, Director of the Bureau for Development Policy, reiterated that while substantial progress has been made in the last decades, critical challenges remain and must be faced head on. There are four billion people in the world who have no access to justice; others are still denied property rights - these are some examples of the concrete challenges faced by development practitioners. He also highlighted UNDP's work in this area focuses on enhancing people participation in public policy and decision making processes that can lead to enabling individuals to expand their choices and opportunities, and to develop their full potential, in accordance with their own needs and interests.
Bringing together experts, practitioners and academics from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, as well as participants from different sectors, the Round Table discussions centered on reconciling the promises of democracy with pressing economic and social demands.
Marta Lagos, the Executive Director of LatinoBarometro, said that in many countries in Latin America and Asia, people identify democracy with freedom and suggested that the latter is more important to development than economic growth alone. She also argued that the furthering of democracy requires the dismantling of the old power structures. For his part, Peter de Souza, the Director of the Indian Institute of Advance Study presented research that indicates that at least in India poor people see democracy as part of development - for them there is no clear separation among the two. He emphasized that historically, the process of state formation must be related to democratization; as a result national elites encountered a massive amount of power when the new national states emerged and were in turn expected to run them in a democratic fashion. This in ifself prove to be difficult.
The afternoon sessions kicked off the discussions from the point of view of development and its impact on democracy. Adebayo Olukushi, Executive Secretary of CODESRIA, based in Senegal reaffirmed the significance of ownership of various policy processes in development. However, he emphasised that decisioins that are taken should not be masked as nationally owned, when they come from vested interests, or "dictated by the outside world", as this is antithetical to true national ownership. This was later reinforced by Ms. Marie Angelique Savanne, member of the Panel of Eminent Persons of the African Peer Review Mechanism, who stated that the voices of the critical mass is still not heard, and that democracy is still led by the state, even if that state is democratic. Dr. Azyumardi Azra, Professor of History at the Universitas Islam Negeri, in Jakarta Indonesia discussed the linkages between Islam and democracy, and stated that the two are compatible, saying that it is often a cultural interpretation of the religion that tends to limit the enjoyment of democratic values in certain Islamic countries, rather than the religion per se. He also added that there is no necessary links between democracy and economic development, as many non-democratic countries in the Middle East are very prosperous in terms of growth, while other countries such as Indonesia are democractic, but do not enjoy a similar level of economic growth.
Professor George Nzongola, Professor of African Studies at the University of North Carolina stated that lessons from South-South cooperation initiatives thave shown that while there are still many improvements to be made, and many promises to be realised, development and democracy must go hand in hand.
The issue of national ownership and the need for contexutalisation of democratic principles were echoed, as well as the need for organizations working in development to address democratic governance demands, based on the particularities of regions or any given country. There is indeed no blue-print for working on development and democracy. Furthermore,no external force can be the prime mover in this process, as it must be led from within if it is to be successful. The quality of both development and democracy also emerged as key factors in the discussions. In the end, it was agreed that both democracy and development are realms of permanent work in progress that need continuous refinement and assessment.
The Round Table discussions provided an important opportunity for an open exchange of ideas, and brought together people, ideas and discussions from different parts of the world, each with their country and region-specific views.
Contributed by Raul Zambrano and Sujala Pant
