Public Theology and Democracy’s Future
Max Stackhouse Thursday, 4 June 2009
The defeat of fascism, the victory of anti-colonial movements, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 20th century made it appear possible that democracy would spread worldwide, accompanied by a fuller realization of human rights, a global economy that benefits more of the world's people, and a reduction of military threats to the world's security. That "end of history" view may yet prove to be the most probable global direction—some 120 nations adopted democratically oriented constitutions for the first time in the last half century. But there are many reasons to be concerned about the character of a democratic future. Some of the newly independent nations have become one-party states hovering on failure. Some Islamists have repudiated democracy altogether and advocate a return to Caliphate governance under sharia. Russia sometimes seems bound to resume a czarist model of centralized political control, and China is adamant in resisting democratic movements.
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