The free world should celebrate 2024 as a milestone year for democracy

Reading the headlines, one might think that democracy is in terminal decline around the world. But despite the challenges we face, 2024 will be a historic year for elections. Elections are scheduled in nearly 100 countries, and more than half of the world’s population lives in countries where they will vote.

No election is perfect, but the billions of voters who came together to hold leaders accountable and elect new ones makes a convincing case that authoritarianism is not the wave of the future. It represents.

Not all of these elections are free or fair. In countries like Russia and Iran, some may be completely fake. But this massive campaign is evidence of very real progress being made in promoting political freedoms around the world. In fact, the fact that more people will vote in Asia than live in China is a reminder that Beijing’s totalitarianism makes China an outlier in the region as well.

This is not to underestimate the serious threat facing the free world. Authoritarian aggression is on the rise, from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to Hamas and Iran’s attacks on Israel to China’s threat to Taiwan. Dictators also engage in aggressive acts against free societies through campaigns of economic coercion and sophisticated political interference.

The case of Taiwan, which will hold a general election on January 13th, is instructive. Comparing Taiwan’s vibrant democracy with mainland China’s gridlocked top-down system reveals one of the main reasons Beijing cannot accept Taiwan’s independence. The mere fact that millions of Taiwanese go to vote shows that mainland Chinese citizens have no inherent cultural reason why they should not be an autonomous people.

The democratic model has repeatedly demonstrated its superiority over authoritarianism. Authoritarian governments inevitably become hardened, insulated from reality, and unable to carry out policies on behalf of their people precisely because they lack free elections that reflect their true priorities. . Leaders lack the knowledge necessary to make good decisions in the absence of political competition. Otherwise, new approaches to policy issues may emerge and free exchange of information may become possible.

This makes authoritarians much more vulnerable to economic, social, and political instability. It also leaves it open to fatal strategic mistakes, such as Putin’s belief that Ukraine will collapse without a fight.

Alliances between democracies are stronger than alliances between autocracies because they are rooted in shared values. The United States supports the rise of India, one of Asia’s giants, partly because India is a democracy. In contrast, China’s opaque authoritarianism makes its power extremely threatening to free societies on both sides of the Pacific.

Or consider how NATO rallied against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Authoritarian partnerships, by contrast, are much more fragile and open to confusion and mistrust. Does anyone seriously believe that the China-Russia axis could be as strong as, say, the US-Japan relationship?

Economically, democracy outperforms dictatorship. Their citizens are on average six times richer. As the comparison between North and South Korea shows, the driving force here is politics, not culture. According to the Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Index, “66 percent of the variation in prosperity around the world is explained by freedom.”

This is not surprising. Property rights, the rule of law, and sound institutions secure capital and investment, foster entrepreneurship, and generate inclusive growth while minimizing corruption. An astonishing 86 percent of the world’s portfolio investments come from the United States and its allies, and there are few indicators to suggest that China and its inferior client states will soon replace them. Capital flight in China now exceeds outward investment, demonstrating the systemic weaknesses of Xi Jinping’s centralized, politically-driven economic model.

It is no coincidence that the global expansion of democracy occurred at a time when America had unprecedented power. American leaders have created the conditions in which free markets and free people can thrive. Conversely, as the United States turned inward, authoritarian criminals quickly filled the void.

If the free world is to overcome the tyrants who seek its destruction, America must stand up for its democratic friends and lead, not retreat. That means investing in conditions for free and fair elections in developing democracies and creating inroads with potential partners courted by authoritarian powers. It also means doing everything in our power to defend democracies under attack, such as in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and to support forces for democratic change, such as the women-led protests in Iran.

Those who claim that Americans don’t care about foreign policy need to consider the lessons of history. American presidents suffer when they are seen as abdicating their global leadership role. President Biden’s approval rating turned negative after he abandoned Afghanistan.

Additionally, a Reagan Institute poll found that a clear majority of Americans (7.5 in 10) want the United States to maintain its global leadership role, with nearly three in four saying Washington, D.C. believes in standing up for human rights and human rights whenever possible. Democracy in international affairs.

As we look to 2024, we need to be acutely aware of both the promise and the risks we face. A democratic election of historic proportions is a reason for optimism, and a reason for America in particular to celebrate.

Daniel Twining is president of the International Republican Association, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that works in more than 100 countries to advance democracy.