Have you heard of the Democracy Index? Published every year since 2006 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, it tracks the movement of governments away from or towards fully democratic government. The 2021 is available free on the web and makes for interesting reading.
Using a detailed list of criteria the index categorises governments as Full democracies (21), Flawed democracies (53), Hybrid regimes (34), Authoritarian regimes (59).
So here is you question for today. Categorise: 1 United Kingdom, 2 USA, 3 Taiwan, 4 Ukraine, 5 Turkey, 6 Qatar?
ANSWERS 1 Full democracy (18th), 2 Flawed democracy (26th), 3 Full democracy (8th), 4 Hybrid regime (86th), 5 Hybrid regime (103rd), 6 Authoritarian regime (114th).
Ukraine may have propelled itself up the index for 2022, given its citizens’ readiness to die for the right to self-determination. I read about the index in an article by Daniel Finkelstein who, like my friend who posted a link to the article on Facebook, had parent/s who were born in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Finkelstein’s article is a compelling read and he makes an important point about the fight for Ukraine. We are not supporting Ukraine as a perfect model of democracy. Its history is complicated, often tragic but rather, as Finkelstein says
“What we are supporting instead is the promise of Ukraine. The direction we want it to go, the direction we believe it can go. And the direction we want the world to go. We are attempting to show every country with a similar potential that the energy, resolve and leadership are with democrats and not dictators.”
And this is the point; Ukrainians are fighting for us, for you, me, for our children and for our right to choose our government and way of life, for democracy itself, ‘the worst of all political systems’ as Churchill said ‘apart from the all the others’. For those citizens and foreign residents in Turkey who want to see it moving up the Democracy Index, a victory for Ukraine will be good for Turkey too.
The free world is getting behind Ukrainians and indeed behind those Russians who are coming on the street to protest the war and risking violent arrest (let us salute their bravery too). The decision by the European Union to finance the purchase of weapons to send to Ukraine is a defining moment. I suspect that if the British vote to leave the EU had been post-invasion, it would be a resounding ‘No’. Putin has made the EU look good.
But short of directly joining the armed struggle, the World must do more to end this conflict. Only when Ukraine is a free country again will we able to begin to relax our guard. Hopefully that will also see a new government in Russia towards which the West must make every overture. But today the picture is grim. I am launching a social media appeal calling Western leaders to co-ordinate 2 minutes of silence, in a global protest in support of Ukraine’s fight for self-determination.
I am not afraid of looking an idiot – I have proved that often enough. I am not afraid of failing either. But I am terrified of doing nothing.
I hope everybody who has ever read my posts or supported the Mouse Island Swim will share my appeal and reach out to all those amongst their networks of friends to get this message to our leaders.
My Ukrainian British friend John Fedorowycz has sent me his 100% support for the idea. So, let’s make it happen.
ACTION Follow this link to my post and SHARE it on all social media and email. For all of us. Stop the World and let get Putin off.