In the latest Foreign Affairs, Azar Gat makes the case that "The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers" [sub req] is the big threat to Western democracy.
Today's global liberal democratic order faces two challenges. The first is radical Islam -- and it is the lesser of the two challenges. Although the proponents of radical Islam find liberal democracy repugnant, and the movement is often described as the new fascist threat, the societies from which it arises are generally poor and stagnant. They represent no viable alternative to modernity and pose no significant military threat to the developed world. It is mainly the potential use of weapons of mass destruction -- particularly by nonstate actors -- that makes militant Islam a menace.
The second, and more significant, challenge emanates from the rise of nondemocratic great powers: the West's old Cold War rivals China and Russia, now operating under authoritarian capitalist, rather than communist, regimes. Authoritarian capitalist great powers played a leading role in the international system up until 1945. They have been absent since then. But today, they seem poised for a comeback.
Authoritarian capitalist states, today exemplified by China and Russia, may represent a viable alternative path to modernity, which in turn suggests that there is nothing inevitable about liberal democracy's ultimate victory -- or future dominance.
Funny... I've always considered the USA to be Authoritarian Capitalist. Guess we need to check our definition criteria. Or look more closely.
Posted by: Boris Anthony | July 27, 2007 at 07:51 AM
If you don't have a subscription to Foreign Affairs, you can also see a shorter article (op-ed) by the same author in the International Herald Tribune:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/14/opinion/edgat.php
Posted by: Matt Daniels | July 27, 2007 at 02:19 PM