International Day of Democracy

For almost a decade it has been clear that democracy and personal freedom have been under attack globally, leaving Australia and a handful of like-minded countries as islands of liberty. This has been highlighted in regular reports by global institutions that monitor attacks on personal freedom and the rule of law.  While Australia’s performance on these measures has been better than most, we need to recognise that we are in a battle of ideas with authoritarians – a true culture war.

British lawyer Jonathan Sumption wrote about this in his recent book “The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law.” Disillusionment with democracy and an appetite for authoritarian styles of government is growing across Europe and in the United States,” Sumption wrote.

If the International Day of Democracy is to have any real significance for democracy, it should mark the day when we all recognise that the fight for democracy requires more than soldiers and submarines. The first line of defence must be a more serious approach to civics education and Australian values – not just for migrants but for all those who are still at school.  To be effective, civics needs to extend beyond the study of our institutions and include the principles of the rule of law that are the bulwark against authoritarian rule.

Generations of migrants have flocked to this country not merely because we have a Senate, a House of Representatives and free elections.  They come to Australia and other democracies because the principles of the rule of law provide accepted benchmarks for democratic governance.  Those benchmarks are designed to restrain abuse of power, regardless of whether those exercising power have been elected or appointed.

This is one of the few countries, for example, where everyone enjoys the right to a fair trial before courts that are truly independent of politicians and their officials, where everyone – particularly those pilloried in the media – is presumed innocent until a court rules otherwise, where conduct will not be rendered criminal retrospectively, and where everyone is entitled to equal treatment and equal protection under the law regardless of race, religion or national origin.

Unless every Australian has a proper understanding of these ideals, those in power who infringe these principles can do so with impunity.  The power of these ideas, particularly equal protection under the law, is linked to the fact that they align with the uniquely Australian concept of the “fair go”.

– Chris Merritt, Vice President of the Rule of Law Education Centre

Activity: Dictatorships and Human Rights

Informed program and competition