Despite some turmoil in regional, national and local arenas, people today are steadily developing a more global mindset. Hence, it is appropriate to consider the question of democracy in the present age of globalization. What does global democracy entail? In answering this question it is important to take positive and negative lessons from the past history of democracy.

Democracy has a long and rich heritage. There are the experiences of ancient Greece and Rome as well as ancient Indian experiments with grassroots democracy of the Lichivis. Subsequently we have the inspiring principles of liberty, equality and fraternity from the French Revolution, as well as Rousseau’s dictum that sovereignty lies with the people. Similarly, we cannot forget Lincoln’s mantra that democracy is ‘government of the people, by the people and for the people’. In the British experiment of constitutional democracy, de jure sovereignty rests with the monarch while de facto sovereignty lies with the parliament.

Yet liberal democracy, based on the theory of representation and majority rule, has also proved to be limited. For one thing it is weakened by focusing only on formal trappings of parliaments, political parties and elections, rather than also addressing informal aspects such as class, gender and race. In addition, liberal democracy is one-sided, attending only to political aspects while neglecting other core dimensions such as economics and culture. Furthermore, liberal democracy within one country has often been associated with imperial relations with others. This tragedy has befallen the main West European states as well as the USA in more recent history.

The communist alternative of so-called ‘people’s democracy’ has also fallen short. These situations of one-party rule invariably generated a new privileged class that dominated over the entire people. In practice people’s democracies often deprived citizens of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Moreover, communist rule revealed its own imperialistic character with invasions of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Vietnam.

Hence, when conceptualizing global democracy we have to think of an alternative that avoids the pitfalls of liberal and communist approaches and instead provides real sovereign power to the people and not to political parties and their bosses. This global democracy must have at least the following six features at its core.

First, global democracy requires a polity that is not based on political parties. Instead, the basic units should be grassroots groups of the people. Policy decisions should wherever possible be taken directly by the people and with the maximum possible consensus. Real power lies at the base, and only limited powers are delegated upwards. In fact, this decentralization of power implies a situation of the least government.

Second, while global democracy would entail less government overall, it would require an expansion of global government. In a global world with global problems, such government as does exist needs to be global government. Careful thought must be given to designing this global government, so that it avoids the main democratic shortcomings that have befallen national governments in the past.

Third, global democracy must be holistic. Political democracy is a farce without social and economic democracy. Democracy is not only a form of government, but also a way of life based on mutual tolerance and adjustment. Global democracy would need to be based on ethical and spiritual values and in that sense would involve a universal religion.

Fourth, global democracy has to encompass all countries as opposed to only some of them. We cannot think of democracy in one country. Democracy in each country is dependent on simultaneous democracy in the others.

Fifth, global democracy has to encompass all segments of society. It cannot be limited to, or disproportionately favour, a particular caste, class, culture, gender, nation or race. Global democracy and global equality must be two sides of the same coin.

Sixth and finally, global democracy is unthinkable without global peace. There cannot be ‘rule by the people’ on a global scale if those people are at war with each other. Thus global democracy is inextricably connected to a pedagogy of peace and a programme of disarmament.

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