Democracy vs Autocracy

Recent events in the Middle East seem to confirm the hypothesis that autocratic order does little good for economic development as regimes tumbled, whose uncontrolled elites have plundered their populations for decades.

Yet, many still argue that autocratic order is more apt to promote economic prosperity in developing countries. In this regard, the recent global financial crisis has often been perceived as illustrating the weakness of the standard economic model of Western democracies. In turn, many developing countries are looking with admiration to a number of authoritarian countries – such as China or Singapore – since these countries have been able to cope well with the challenges of global financial turmoil. And even some authoritarian regimes in Africa like Rwanda and Ethiopia are being praised for their economic success.

Autocracies, it has been argued, promise a constant and reliable course of development in order to boost overall economic performance. In contrast, democracies are slow in their decision-making and prone to the reconciliation of powerful interest groups. But are autocracies really better suited than democracies for the economic development of poorer countries?

Moreover, economic performance is not the only indicator that is decisive for a country’s development. What about universal human rights, freedom of opinion and speech, equality of women and men, equality before the law, the right to education, freedom of religion, the right to freedom of movement and finally the right to take part in the government of his or her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives?

These and other questions will be addressed by this panel of high-level experts from developed and developing countries, organized by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) – Germany’s leading development policy think tank.

Moderation:
Jörg Faust
Head of the Department "Governance, Statehood and Security" at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Panelists:
Aboubakr Jamai
Founder and editor of the Moroccan weekly magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire and the news website "lakome.com"

Todd Landmann
Professor of Government and Director of the Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution at the University of Essex

Markus Löning
Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin