by Piyaporn Hawiset
25 July 2002
Rising inequality and corruption around the world are putting the recent spread of democracy in many countries at risk, the UN said in a new report. Of 81 countries that had moved toward democracy between 1982 and 2002, the report said, only 47 were still considered full democracies with the necessary checks and balances on power. The warning came with the UN's 12th annual Human Development Report, which ranked 173 countries for their quality of life, using indicators such as life expectancy and income per person. Norway again ranked first, followed by Sweden, Canada, Belgium, Australia and the United States - but the bottom of the chart was dominated by African countries. Sierra Leone was last, and the bottom 24 countries were all in Africa.
The poor performance went hand-in-hand with a relapse in many places to authoritarian rule or conflict, especially in sub-Saharan African, where the report said that one in four countries saw the military intervene in politics.
"Around the world, there is a growing sense that democracy has not delivered development such as more jobs, schools, health care for ordinary people," said Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, the UN report's chief author.
Stability
But the report argued that moving toward democracy actually makes for more stable societies - rebutting an argument made by China, Pakistan and other countries that a slower shift to democracy was necessary to maintain order.
"The desire for stability often leads to the notion that non-democratic regimes hold out the prospect of greater public order and faster economic development," the report's author said. "History and academic research provide no evidence that authoritarian regimes are better at promoting economic and social progress."
In addition, democratic countries were far less likely to go to war against each other, the report said.