If the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the recent military agression of China in Taiwan has taught us anything, it is that countries ruled by dictators are ten times more likely to engage in war than those without one.
That said, I must state it clearly that I've never been a huge fan of democracy, due to some of its failings and shortcomings. However, it is a fact that democracy in it's weakest form is still far better than the kind of one-party system we see in a dictatorship regime like those in China and Russia.
For instance, Nigeria, despite being led by a dictator and having a pseudo-democratic system, would not easily go to war with another sovereign state. But the ease with which Russia is invading Ukraine is as alarming as it is frightening!
So, criticize democracy as much as you want, but don't also forget to commend it for keeping the peace by taming the wild and dictatorial tendencies of blood-sucking leaders like Vladmir Putin. The president of Nigeria for instance, must secure 2/3 of the total votes in the legislature, to engage in war with another country. That's not an easy feat to accomplish.
In political science, we were taught that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. In a true democratic system, political powers are separated among the three arms of government, thereby preventing any arm from becoming too powerful. One fucking leader cannot just wake-up one fucking morning, to go to war with another country just because he woke-up on the wrong side of the bed.
The current situation in Ukraine is very sad and depressing. And the terrible images of WWII are brought back to our memories. And though I wasn't born then, I've watched the documentary three times.
It's clear, we cannot trust the instincts of men, because man in his natural state is desperately wicked and evil. Therefore, we must have a system to check his excesses. Adolf Hilter alone was the catalyst for WWII; will the mad dog from Russia be the catalyst for another world war?
Therefore, we need democracy now more than ever, to help us maintain the relative peace we have enjoyed for the last 77 years. As German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said yesterday in his address, “we must not underestimate the strength of democracy”.
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