00:00John Adams once warned,
00:02Democracy never lasts long.
00:04It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself.
00:07Today, his warning feels relevant
00:09as many wars are led by democratic nations.
00:13Leaders often act to please the majority.
00:16From the US's invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan
00:19to Russia's war on Ukraine,
00:21the veneer of democracy often masks the impulses of majoritarianism.
00:26Immanuel Kant called democracy a form of despotism,
00:30where majority rule suppresses minority voices,
00:34stating,
00:35The will of all is therefore not that of all,
00:38which is contradictory and opposite to liberty.
00:41This raises a troubling question.
00:44Is democracy turning into a system that fuels war and dominance
00:48instead of protecting liberty and justice?
00:51Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.
00:53Today, we will explore the complex relationship between democracy and wars.
00:58How did the promise of democracy transform into a paradox
01:02of uncertainty, violence and exclusion?
01:06Why are more and more democracies around the world,
01:09from North America to Latin America,
01:11from Europe to Asia and Africa,
01:14veering towards a rightward lurch?
01:16Why are more and more governments becoming inward-looking,
01:20suspicious of the other and led by demigods?
01:23Is this ultra-nationalism the root cause of the many wars
01:27and violent conflicts in the world?
01:29Democracy around the world has been shifting
01:32towards what some term an illiberal democracy.
01:36These comprise of
01:39which divides societies over issues like religion,
01:42migration or LGBTQIA plus rights,
01:45attacks on independent media,
01:48Judiciary control, where by appointing biased judges,
01:52government weakens the rule of law,
01:54repression of opposition, where law is enforced
01:57to ensure dissent is met with brutality,
02:00civil society scapegoating such as surveillance
02:03and legal restrictions that suppress freedoms
02:06under the guise of national security.
02:09In the late 20th century, neoliberalism promised progress
02:13but instead induced a paradox.
02:16By commodifying uncertainty,
02:18it shifted democracy's transformative potential
02:21into insecurity.
02:22How?
02:23Sites of profit-making expanded,
02:25leading to disenfranchisement and inequality.
02:28As described by Ashail Bembe,
02:31the shift from biopolitics to necropolitics
02:34saw states using mass violence as a control mechanism.
02:38In this neoliberal order, speed and scale replaced
02:41collective values, dehumanizing democracy.
02:45Paradoxically, neoliberalism's uncertainty
02:48birthed a hunger for absolute certainty.
02:51This manifested in immigration crackdowns
02:54to communal divides, concrete exclusions
02:57providing a deceptive sense of security.
03:00Violence has become a language of certainty,
03:03normalizing genocidal imageries in public discourse.
03:07Even democracy's hallmark of uncertainty,
03:10once its greatest strength, is now weaponized against it.
03:14Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy offers a counter-narrative.
03:18Though he opposed war,
03:20Gandhi believed in the moral preparation for death,
03:23exemplified in his own martyrdom.
03:26His violent death, paradoxically,
03:28cemented India's democratic foundation.
03:31Could embracing non-violence and trust in uncertainty
03:35restore democracy?
03:37You can read more about this in our issue, War and Democracy.
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