Arch of Autocracy Revisited – Illiberal Democracy
Eric C. AndersonBudapest. The calm of mid-August has settled upon Hungary’s capitol. Viktor Orban, the sitting prime minister, is basking in the glow of a philosophical backsliding that can only be of comfort to Vladimir Putin and a few members of the populist elite emerging on Europe’s eastern flank.Think about it. In the last week the Bavarian hard right has driven Angela Merkel into a descent from advocating for the EU’s open boarders, Warsaw is in open war with its judiciary, and Romania has relaxed penalties for abuse of office. Even the Austrians are in on this game. Apparently, the elected barons of Vienna now feel compelled to reject the immigrants that might supply Europe with the new labor pool it so desperately needs.Illiberal democracy, indeed.Not my phrase.Mr. Orban came up with that one.Liberal democracy implies an adherence to rules of law. To a set of written—or in the British case, unscripted—agreements intended to keep the wanton cravens of political power at bay. The concept of liberal democracy, was, thirty years ago, celebrated as the “end of history.” The place where civilized societies came to rest. Assured members of the constituency would be willing to abandon a putsch for a chance at the polling place.Foolish enthusiasm. Given the recent capitulation in Berlin—rendered by a politician who should know better—the home of beer-hall putsches and rise of Adolf Hitler has come to rule the roost. It will not be long before the Schengen Zone goes the way of democracy in Moscow. Memories of glory never come to fruition. Open borders sacrificed to save the careers of fearmongering politicians. God forbid, foreigners in our midst.Sounds like Mr. Trump’s vision for the United States. I digress.Illiberal democracy is, if we are to believe Fareed Zakaria, “democratically elected regimes often re-elected or reinforced by referendums that ignore the constitutional limits of their power and deprive their citizens of basic rights and liberties.”Perhaps the citizens have freely opted to abrogate those rights and liberties. This is, of course, an option in democracy. As the rock band Rush so ably noted almost 40 years ago, “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”It certainly appears the Austrians, Bavarians, Hungarians, Italians, Polish, and Romanians are about to leap off that cliff. Governance is hard work, even if it only requires your presence at a ballot box once every two years. So why bother to show up. Let someone else make the decisions.In other words, “I don’t care about my rights and liberties until they are wantonly trampled.” And even then, it takes a steamroller to motivate the average citizen.The American electorate has demonstrated that fact for our entire history. If you get more than 50 percent of the eligible voters to show up on election day in the U.S.—well, declare a new precedent in participation in your own governance.So, why should we be surprised the Europeans are equally ambivalent? The continent is home to Francisco Franco, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. And, arguably, Joseph Stalin, Marshal Tito and Margret Thatcher. Oh, don’t forget Nicolae Ceausescu.Normally, we largely surrender governance—or at least voting—to the aged and extremists. How the hell else do you explain Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. Or Mr. Orban and the rise of new fascism in Bavaria and Austria. And, of course, we always will have Vladimir Putin.There are few surprises in what is happening “across the pond.” Save for our own lack of interest in the demise of European democracy. It is a bit of history rhyming. With the sad exception of an intrusion of social media and instant dissemination of propaganda. Seems to work for misters Orban, Putin and Trump.You have to wonder who will leap aboard the illiberal democracy float next.Meanwhile, I’ll sit here and enjoy my beer in Budapest. Tomorrow its time to head for Madrid, I hear the Spanish socialists want to move Franco’s grave. That should be almost as entertaining as witnessing the dismantling Confederate War statues in South Carolina. Unless no one bothers to show up for the event. Perhaps the Spanish are less dispassionate. Or unwilling to accept illiberal democracy.
About the Author: Eric C. Anderson is a retired member of the U.S. Intelligence Community whose work focused on Northeast Asia — specifically China and North Korea. He is also an author. His latest text is "Anubis," the second book in a trilogy examining the rise of ISIS.
