Democracy and Development Friend or Foe?

Soho to Soweto debate - 4th June 2008

After four successful debates on aid, trade, security, and the environment, the fifth and last in the Soho to Soweto series focused on Democracy and Development – Friends or Foes? This was chaired by BBC HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur, and the panellists were:

Mark Robinson, Head of Profession at DFID for Governance and Conflict
Daniel Kawczynski, Conservative MP and member of the International Development Committee
Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell, International Office Coordinator at the Centre for Democracy and Development
Mark Stevens, Head of Democracy for the Commonwealth Secretariat

Unfortunately Daniel Kawczynski had to return to Parliament to vote whilst on his way to the venue, and could not make it back in time. Stephen Sackur nonetheless opened the debate by relating his experiences of reporting on democracy for the BBC in developing country contexts, and then asked the panellists whether Chinese economic development questioned the value of democracy.

In response to this question Mark Robinson questioned whether China has the right ingredients for sustaining its progress, and Mark Stevens highlighted their no strings attached approach to aid and its implications for African leadership.

A question from the audience about the universality of democracy stimulated some interesting debate. Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell said that different countries may need different types of democracy and that imposed democracy was tantamount to slavery. Stephen Sackur then questioned the dominance of Western democracy, citing Venezuela as an example.

Stephen then asked the panel for their opinions on the legitimacy of the elections in Gaza that brought Hamas to power. Mark Stevens believed the election system favoured Hamas but the parliamentary elections were internationally credible. Mark Robinson said that other considerations were important to foreign governments, particularly regional stability. Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell declared that such Western interests often discredit democracy.

In response to a question on the Zimbabwe crisis, Mark Robinson the UK governments and support to civil society and Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell highlighted the double standards involved, as despite President Mugabe committing atrocities for many years, the UK had previously honoured him with a knighthood. She noted how Western consistency is necessary. Mark Stevens stated his belief that an African solution to the crisis was necessary, similar to that found for Kenya. South Africa has a key role to play here.

Stephen Sackur took up the question of consistency by citing continuing Western support for Ethiopia and Nigeria despite fraudulent elections and developmental practice not always following democratic principles. Mark Robinson observed that some aid to Ethiopia had been suspended, but argued that DFID was not a democracy agency, and that other considerations such as institution-building were important.

There was also a lively discussion on governments in the Middle East, with Sylvie Aboa-Bradwell saying how Western action in the Middle East supports her call for Western consistency.

Discussions continued over refreshments afterwards, and CUTS celebrated the end of a successful debate series.