Type | Journal Article - Journal of African Elections |
Title | Beyond the state: Botswana's democracy and the global perspective |
Author(s) | |
Volume | 5 |
Issue | 2 |
Publication (Day/Month/Year) | 2006 |
Page numbers | 41-51 |
URL | https://eisa.org.za/pdf/JAE5.2.pdf#page=46 |
Abstract | The success of democracy is determined both by the extent to which the citizens of a democratic country enjoy rights, freedoms, and a high quality of life and the extent to which the foreign policy of a democratic country articulates its democratic culture and principles abroad. The Western so-called mature democracies have described democracy as their way of life and anyone who is seen to threaten this way of life as their enemy. This particular stand has been clearly brought to the fore by post-September 11 political developments and the USA and UK invasion of Iraq in 2003. The question this paper raises is who has the right to promote democracy? Can democracy success cases such as Botswana be promoters of democracy as well? Does democracy promotion bring any benefits to the promoter? I argue that indeed Botswana has been successful in establishing her democracy at home against all odds. I conclude, however, that Botswana has been a reluctant promoter of democracy abroad. As a result the country‘s potential democratic leadership mantle has been taken over by new democracies such as post-apartheid South Africa. |
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