TOTALITARIAN DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL MESSIANISM; PEACE, A FORLORN HOPE.
TOTALITARIAN DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL MESSIANISM IN AFRICA: PEACE, A FORLORN HOPE.
BY CHIBU 16/10/2017
Peace be upon you.
The concept of Totalitarian democracy was popularized by the Israeli historian J . L Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of nation states but have little or no participation in the decision process.
Political Messianism is equally an off shoot of totalitarianism. A Phenomenon, were one leader is seen as the key to solving many political and socio-economic problems. The leader holds the “Sole and Exclusive Truth” to solving all problems and unlocking all potentials inherent in any state. “The leader is the state and the state is the leader “. The leader “belongs to everybody and belongs to no one”. The sole view of the leader can become a law. The leader sees politics as a Zero –Sum game. The leader disobeys courts orders brazenly without any fuss. The leader muzzles the press. The leader has special ministers in his fold who are above the law, even if they stench with corruption like the animal farm fable of “some animals more equal than others”. The leader so much believes in the use of force to oppress and suppress people. The leader uses the “cabal” to run its activities. The leader hates negotiation of any kind. The leader is very hypocritical especially internationally. .
This type of leadership can be found in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria, and many more nations. It has led many African countries down the drain of infamy. But the illusion continues to elude those who still believe in a Political Messiah and an elusive and utopian Superman. The experiences of the people of Imo State with Governor Rochas Okorocha is a clear example of a "RESCUE MISSION" turned in to a "SUICIDE MISSION" the 'CHANGE' mantra of the All Progressive Congress(APC) government or ALL PROMISES CANCELED(APC) has in turn "CHAINED" people.
The 8 pillars of Positive peace according to the Institute of Economics and Peace are; well-functioning government, Sound business environment, Low levels of corruption, High levels of human capital, Equitable distribution of resources, Acceptance of the rights of others, Free flow of information and Good relations with neighbours. What is our score here?
Positive peace can never come to fruition in a milieu of Totalitarianism as we currently have in Nigeria. Negative peace will continue to be the order of the day as we witness over militarization of the land, from “Crocodile Smile to Python Dance” in peaceful areas. We are gradually moving towards “Military Democracy”,
Talia Hagerty a Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics and Peace advises that “Where a country’s score for Negative peace outperforms it scores for Positive peace, this is known as Peace Deficit, referring to the weakness apparent in the attitudes, institutions and structures that support the absence of violence”.
We must gradually build buffers through strong institutions to guide us away from totalitarianism and the phenomenon of political messianism and heal divided fault lines in our polity.
Peace be with you.
Read more articles at chibundubuisi.blogspot.com
BY CHIBU 16/10/2017
Peace be upon you.
The concept of Totalitarian democracy was popularized by the Israeli historian J . L Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of nation states but have little or no participation in the decision process.
Political Messianism is equally an off shoot of totalitarianism. A Phenomenon, were one leader is seen as the key to solving many political and socio-economic problems. The leader holds the “Sole and Exclusive Truth” to solving all problems and unlocking all potentials inherent in any state. “The leader is the state and the state is the leader “. The leader “belongs to everybody and belongs to no one”. The sole view of the leader can become a law. The leader sees politics as a Zero –Sum game. The leader disobeys courts orders brazenly without any fuss. The leader muzzles the press. The leader has special ministers in his fold who are above the law, even if they stench with corruption like the animal farm fable of “some animals more equal than others”. The leader so much believes in the use of force to oppress and suppress people. The leader uses the “cabal” to run its activities. The leader hates negotiation of any kind. The leader is very hypocritical especially internationally. .
This type of leadership can be found in Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria, and many more nations. It has led many African countries down the drain of infamy. But the illusion continues to elude those who still believe in a Political Messiah and an elusive and utopian Superman. The experiences of the people of Imo State with Governor Rochas Okorocha is a clear example of a "RESCUE MISSION" turned in to a "SUICIDE MISSION" the 'CHANGE' mantra of the All Progressive Congress(APC) government or ALL PROMISES CANCELED(APC) has in turn "CHAINED" people.
The 8 pillars of Positive peace according to the Institute of Economics and Peace are; well-functioning government, Sound business environment, Low levels of corruption, High levels of human capital, Equitable distribution of resources, Acceptance of the rights of others, Free flow of information and Good relations with neighbours. What is our score here?
Positive peace can never come to fruition in a milieu of Totalitarianism as we currently have in Nigeria. Negative peace will continue to be the order of the day as we witness over militarization of the land, from “Crocodile Smile to Python Dance” in peaceful areas. We are gradually moving towards “Military Democracy”,
Talia Hagerty a Research Fellow at the Institute of Economics and Peace advises that “Where a country’s score for Negative peace outperforms it scores for Positive peace, this is known as Peace Deficit, referring to the weakness apparent in the attitudes, institutions and structures that support the absence of violence”.
We must gradually build buffers through strong institutions to guide us away from totalitarianism and the phenomenon of political messianism and heal divided fault lines in our polity.
Peace be with you.
Read more articles at chibundubuisi.blogspot.com
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