Is there a protest happening near you? Do you even know why? We're asking the question, so you can think about WHY people all over the world, they are protesting and are fed up. Protests in Hong Kong and Belarus. What about the D.C. protest or Portland protest. We are going to examine what it would look like if people could have a say...everywhere.
Over the course of ten videos, beginning with this first episode, Joel Marsden will take you on a journey where we travel to different places on the planet and show you what people want and why they protest, look at democracy in its different stages, and explore the possibility of a global democratic system. He is using material from his documentary “World Vote Now” which he shot from 2001 to 2009 and brought him to 26 countries around the world. Learn why this feature explains the protest happening near you.
Now, in the Covid-19 era with a protest in nearly every major city around the world, it becomes clear that giving every person on the planet an equal voice on the biggest issues facing humanity is more necessary than ever. No border could stop the pandemic. This is true for a growing number of critical global issues. There are global questions today that clearly need a global response. Or the protest near you could escalate even more.
At the same time a protest in the streets across the world. Movements and protests against oppression, corruption, racism, or authoritarianism have been going on now or in recent times in dozens of countries and territories such as Algeria, Benin, Belarus, Bolivia, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gaza, Hong Kong, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Poland, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Sudan, Thailand, Russia’s Far East, United States or Zimbabwe.
Their common denominator is a belief in democracy, equal rights, and the rule of law. People are protesting against an old order that does not embrace these principles.
While they are fighting for democracy in their country or territory, the citizens of the world have no say in how the world is run even if they reside in fully-fledged democracies. As this first episode highlights, there is a huge democratic deficit at the global level and many people believe in the need for a global democratic revolution. This affects, first of all, the most prominent global institution, the United Nations.
As the interviewees point out, at the UN each country has only one vote no matter how many people live there. San Marino only has 28,000 inhabitants and China has a billion and still each only counts as one. The UN is a club of member states. Its failures and virtues are those of its member states. The UN does not represent citizens nor humanity. Do you wonder why the world wants to protest?
Further, there is a kind of anarchy at the international level. The decisions of the UN General Assembly are not binding. The only body that can take binding decisions, limited to matters of peace and security, is the UN Security Council. Here, however, five nations are in charge because they have a veto right in the Councill: China, France, Russia, UK, United States, the victors of the Second World War, and the five official nuclear weapons states. The Charter reflects the balance of power at the time and the Security Council no longer reflects current realities. As one interviewee puts it, “the Security Council is the reason for all the insecurities in the world.”
Because the UN is inefficient and has no popular mandate, people are looking for a world parliament that represents them in a democratic way and that could deal with global problems. So the world will continue to protest...everywhere.
This is what the global democratic revolution is about that Democracy Without Borders promotes.