The importance of political parties
"The people cannot eat democracy" knows the average autocrat. It¹s been heard so often and it is hard the count the ways in which this statement is wrong. As if people can eat dictatorship. As if authoritarian regimes are better in providing food, education and security to their people. As if authoritarian regimes are better at promoting economic development. And there are more arguments against democracy. "This country needs stability" is one. And the Asian Values argument is another.
Of course, all of that is rubbish. An Asian who is locked up longs for freedom as much as any European would. An African who is tortured hurts as much as any North American would.
Only a political system that is subject to the citizens it governs will provide long term stable development, economic growth and protection of the rights of each and every citizen. It is as simple as that. Democracy is a universal idea that is valid for every country in the world, an idea that benefits every single citizen.
For democratic governments and democratic political parties it is an obligation to promote democracy worldwide. This is a matter of principle. Each individual has the right to choose the government and to have a say in the rules and laws that are adopted. This is an essential element of the human rights that are inalienable to each and every individual irrespective of nationality, race, religion.
Promoting democracy is also a matter of pragmatism. Democracy and human rights will help avoid conflict. Democracy will reduce the chances of people being forced to flee their homes and even countries. Democracy will reduce economic deprivation.
Unfortunately, many governments in donor countries as well as international institutions have chosen an approach to democracy that excludes political parties. Wary after bad experiences with some politicians, they have chosen to shun all of them and work on creating democracies without democrats. They happily support the legislature and the media and expect parties to fend for themselves.
It is therefore especially fortunate that the Westminster Foundation for Democracy has chosen to actively support political parties and to do this through the British political parties. Political parties in newly established democracies and in countries that are still struggling to become democratic need our support. They need material support, staff and equipment. They especially need know how. This is where the Liberal Democrats play a vital role. Through training programmes and exchange programmes, vital knowledge and experience is being made available to those political parties that need it most.
Jan Weijers, Secretary-General of Liberal International. This article originally appeared in December 2000 on the web site of the Liberal Democrats.
