Supporting Democracy: It is up to all of us

By Amb. William W. Popp
U.S. Mission Uganda

Each year on September 15 we celebrate International Day of Democracy. This day reminds us not only the precious value of freedom, but also our own individual role in supporting democracy. As Nelson Mandela said, “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Democracies provide individuals from all walks of life the opportunity to have a voice in how they are governed. They inherently incorporate many ideas. Some ideas gain prominence and acceptance, and others decline. Democracies are not static, and they are not perfect. They are dynamic, constantly seeking a better way. They are the best way to give voice to the people’s desire for greater liberty and economic opportunity.

Democracy presumes that individuals, not states, are supreme, and all people in a society have an equal voice. Chapter 1, Article 1 of Uganda’s Constitution affirms this: “All authority in the State emanates from the people… and the people shall be governed through their will and consent.” In democracies, individuals select from among themselves leaders to guide their society, and they can change those leaders through free and fair elections. In application, democracies can be messy, and the competition of ideas at times can generate frustration. As Winston Churchill quipped in 1947, “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried.”

A well-functioning democracy is based on the rule of law, which relies on the premise that everyone is equal and therefore equally subject to society’s laws. As society’s leaders ensure the laws are enforced fairly and consistently, the democratic process will produce leadership that reflects the people’s will. In this way, leaders are accountable to the citizens via the ballot box, and leaders hold each other accountable under the rule of law.

With these two principles, democracy generates a range of benefits, including dynamic economic growth and innovation. In the United States, as democratic institutions deepened and expanded over the past 248 years, they have helped foster multiple industrial and technological revolutions, contributing to significant global improvements in prosperity, life expectancy, health, and quality of life.

In recent decades, some have claimed that authoritarian regimes are better suited toward economic growth. At the 2014 World Economic Forum, MIT Professor of Applied Economics Dr. Daron Acemoglu soundly debunked this theory. He and his team found that when a country shifts from an undemocratic regime to democracy, that country on average experiences 20% greater economic growth.

At the same time, history has shown that when countries walk the path of democracy, they must openly discuss and resolve issues cooperatively. And they must embrace the flexibility to adjust to changing realities. In that sense, effective self-governance is the purest form of civic responsibility.

Among the rights of a citizen enshrined in Uganda’s constitution is to “promote democracy and the rule of law.” As we commemorate International Day of Democracy, we all have an opportunity to reflect on the principles underlying an effective democracy, including that supporting freedom and liberty is up to all of us!