Freedom and Democracy

Freedom and Democracy

escrito por Dini Harmita

 

Summary  

Freedom tends to be crippled especially this lately, following the rise of authoritarianism and far-rights. As one of the indicators of democracy, the freedom erosion effects on the essentially dying democracy. It becomes a cycle when the democracy short-breath causes the freedom to be crippled even more. This book is aimed at exploring the cases from different contexts and backgrounds. The contexts include the very radical Russia and Myanmar, the moving pendulum British and Spanish politics including their monarchs, and the surviving Ukraine. Indonesia, Israel, Taiwan, and few other countries are also analysed in the contexts of their distinctive differences such as ideology and personality tendencies.

Key words: Freedom, Democracy,

 

I.                    Putin’s Fears

What far-rights and authoritarianism fear the most is hope. It is represented in every of their attacks, be it physical or mental including through cyber-attacks. Every time social media is filled with hopes of victories, Putin attacked Ukraine. Person and McFaul (2022) mentioned that Putin fears democracy yet in the latest Russian election the government led by him stated that democracy in Russia is the best. After Alexei Navalny’s died in the prison most likely because of being slowly poisoned under Putin’s instruction, most of us realised how fake their democracy has been. One of tweets said ‘he could conduct and organise elections then put all his names in the ballots.’ Another tweet said he has many women and illegitimate children whom he used for attacking people. It is interesting and infuriating to know how extremism tends to legitimate it using their ideologies including religions and beliefs.

Learning his gestures upon several meetings with the world leaders it is knowledgeable that he is afraid of freedom. One of the peaks is when Joe Biden decided to deliver lecture about it. Putin’s fear about freedom is engraved more in his hatred towards US. Thus, any hopes related to both freedom and democracy fear him and his allies.

 

II.                  Putin’s Allies

Like it or not Putin has become a symbol of authoritarianism and far-rights despite his claim towards the democracy in Russia. It is ultimately represented in his allies who tend to be from both classifications and oligarchs who support both. Militarism tends to follow them because weapons can protect their money and their money saves their power.

Of course money has power in party politics (Casal Bértoa and Tsutskiridze, 2024), freedom, democracy, education and scholarship (Komárek, 2022), controlling media, militarism, and dictatorship (Sheen, Tung, and Wu, 2022), and many other aspects. Paradoxically, Putin’s oligarchs tend to cover all. When he was running out of money for attacking Ukraine, the oligarchs from Central Asia, Caucasus, Eurasia, and Middle East and their allies tended to also join his forces; not only the usual countries with authoritarian leaders such as Myanmar, North Korea, and China. 

Taking a case of Indonesia’s Soeharto, a stamp of populist and authoritarian tends to be hand in hand. Soeharto was once called a populist then an authoritarian when people knew how a very corrupt person he was. Nonetheless, Putin is constantly called an authoritarian; no matter how populist the way he brings himself especially to the Russians. Everyone knows whenever he lies, nevertheless no one could do anything significant yet to end the invasion in Ukraine [for example].

    III. Elections

Election is everything for people like Putin simply because it is one of the chances where the probability for them to win over their own manipulation and calculation is high. Unfortunately, that’s not something new. To argue between which one is better between presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary elections may worth to examine from both and government form itself.

It depends on the country indeed, nonetheless voters tend to choose either the candidates they know or pay them. The seduction is vote buying. In the parliament for example, the members can discuss with seat and quota system who will eventually lead after the elections. Thus it tends to be more acceptable and reliable because they know the candidates much better than the voters. Nevertheless, the vote buying is even more potentially dangerous and usually emerged as corruption, collusion, nepotism, and cartelisation. 

    IV. Democratic Belarus

Political parties are not rarely using the word ‘democracy’ for their names, nonetheless the title of this chapter doesn’t represent that. I would like to discuss the regime of Putin’s brother: Lukashenko.

He sounded even more silently radical than Putin, referring to the description on Twitter especially regarding Masha’s. The criminal bears are apparently everywhere, not only in Russia and Kyoto. The Kyoto’s was a real bear. It is called a criminal bear also by me simply because it frightened children and inhabitants there; exactly when I came for a seminar on Latin America.

The treatments to democracy fighters are so patterned. I don’t understand why sometimes some people are still so blinded. 

    V. Egalitarian Democracy 

Like poverty, democracy is also multidimensional. Parvin (2021) mentioned that egalitarian democracy tends to be the criticism of participatory democracy when the egalitarian never did any participatory methods while the participatory democracy has experienced and studied all of the multidimensional democracies. 

Let’s examine. To organise representative democracy through electoral system the participatory democracy needs to involve at least the voters. To deliver fruitful policies as part of deliberative democracy the participatory democracy needs to at least facilitate a public consultation meeting or collaborative management planning.

To reach certain welfare target so your countries won’t be called illiberal democracy you need at least the participatory democracy to make the poor define what they need and the rich willing to help and or empower them. To implement a religion-based democracy your priests -whatever your religion is- need to be part of the participatory democracy in facilitating such empowerment. Yet ones are so afraid the others are going to be converted because of. Yet people are still asking why the conflicts within democracy occurred. We hope whoever reads this is not part of them.

    VI. Electoral System

Electoral system is known as part of popular democracy mainly because of its capability to bring out the best of people in voting and being the candidates. Like people in Turkey and Cyprus, after countless of struggles finally they have been able to vote. Nonetheless, Erdogan is still Erdogan. 

Thus electoral system alone is not enough. There should be a mechanism where the voters will be able to recognise their candidates more. There should be schemes where the candidates are allowed to say no to oligarchs, for example. Otherwise indeed even malls in Nottingham will be emptied and only having one spot: money laundry section [for example]. The far rights tend to will always feel right no matter how wrong they are in framing elections and electoral system. 

    VII. Institutionalisations 

Institutionalisation is important in the sense of everything would be more organised and civilised like mentioned by Casal Bértoa and Weber (2024) for democracy to function. First time I learned the term ‘institutionalisation’ through Bourdieu (1986) I stumbled upon the practicality from surreal into real. Therefore I made frameworks for the research that happened to be my bachelor thesis in 2006-2007. One of the examiners called it a doctoral thesis indeed. Nevertheless, nothing to really brag about because in one hands it represents how advance I was even by then but on another hand  there are still data that could actually be institutionalised. I managed to understand why only recently when I study democracy. Yet, the democracy still feels surreal.

To feel the real democracy I would like to emphasise again Spanish cases because of the dynamics. I see hopes somehow in the current CGPJ renewal; in the sense of related sides are there. They fight there. Though for some points of view the debates are only words they represent and shape at least what the speakers and listeners are going to do and or be.

Freedom and democracy in Asian countries are challenged by the ongoing conflicts, like in most other countries. Influenced by such conflicts and brief comprehension from UK recent election, whoever wins the candidates eventually learned more about their people and country [at least]. 

    VIII. Facilitating Democracy 

Europe is so institutionalised and civilised thus Russia and their allies couldn’t occupy any land there anymore to produce for example weapons. Thus, they ruined Asia and Africa for that. They came to North Korea because they couldn’t rely on Middle East and their allies anymore.

The very current attack to 38,000 Palestinians in Gaza by Hezbollah has shown that it’s not the matter of religion anymore. It’s the fight between the aggressors and themselves, including those who fund them namely oligarchs and terrorists.

Corrupters become part of them simply because their behavioural routinisation of covering their corruption, collusion, cartelisation, and nepotism; and of getting easy money. That includes scamming and other sources of income that makes the poor poorer.

Thus, it’s part of contentments for me as an author, researcher, practitioner, scientist, facilitator, teacher-student, and citizen when I found how important an institutionalisation is in my 20s and how essential behavioural routinisation is in my 40s. Both represent how micro-messo-macro as methodologies, scopes, entities, and universes could complete each other; e. g. to explain interaction within organisations, associations, and institutions. We see it from sociological or political science eyes it doesn’t matter anymore. It represents also interaction between natural and social sciences, competition and cooperation-coordination-collaboration.

   IX. Religion-based democracy 

This chapter is inspired by perennial conflicts between religions in Netherlands and Syrian refugees in Europe. The main fiesta of democracy is participatory indeed, no matter what the dimension is. 

Talking conflicts between religions is something unstoppable too. In my working paper about rise and fall of political parties and democracy in Asia (2021-2022) I mentioned the core of democracy related to each religion and belief. I didn’t even mention its weaknesses. 

Thus sometimes I am confused has anyone really read it comprehensively. Perhaps it’s our tendency to pick up things that are in favor of us, including theories and practices written in the forms of articles, notes, or books likewise. 

One of the main nodes reminds me of my first book published in 2009 that says the importance of mutual trust and respect toward different perspectives. Nonetheless, the implementation is always a challenge indeed.

    X. Education as cultural capital in Freedom and Democracy 

I am all aware that my bachelor thesis could be written as freedom and democracy series of books in the future and I am so grateful for that. It may will not be like Harry Potter’s, nonetheless worth to read especially for scholars and monks.

Why scholars and monks? I came across a realisation that even in one of the chapters Holy Quran mentioned them quite often. The chapter is namely Al Isra. It tells us primarily about Israeli. 

Bourdieu (1983) indeed mentioned that cultural capital is institutionalised in the forms of education. Like Miranda Pristley in The Devils Wear Prada who never mentioned what kind of skirts should be collected from Dolce and Gabbana to her clackers for example, Bourdieu (1986) didn’t mention the details either of course. Therefore I used Saini (2004) who classified education as formal, informal, and non formal education. Analysing myself, I even mentioned that though education from and within family and society are classified as non formal education, Saini (2004) did write that family is informal and society is non formal. Like every classification this one is also arguable. Nonetheless I want to let our readers and researchers know and understand my tendency of choosing a theory that includes classifications: it’s in the comprehensive classification. By this I want to also convey the message that we don’t need to be bounded by the formal classification all the time. We can make it by ourselves, such as garbages and tea. 

Stumbled upon the magnificent data that I could actually elaborate much much much more, I found that villagers in both cultural and natural villages in 2005 tend to have similar highest income which was 6,000,000 IDR per year. Nonetheless in cultural village where the tourism tends to be based on indigenous knowledge -in this case Sundanese as culture- the inhabitants tend to gain their income from farming and becoming tourist guide; whilst in natural village they tend to accumulate their income also from their kiosks. A little bit more of checking says that the latest being born in a place constituted as part of the cultural village jurisdiction but nearby the port more. The port and beach are also full of mystical superstition, yet none of the comments made by the respondents saying that their strength and weaknesses are acquired from practicing such activities involving black magic. 

Interestingly Sundanese women and their surroundings as my research subject at that time in both villages said that their strength is related to their diligence and attention to details. Dynasty family may have something to do with their weaknesses but this was only indicated in natural village where indeed the communities from the port -Pelabuhan Ratu- might be emerged. The weakness is called as corruption.

It reminds me of Bangladeshi leader who has been fighting for corruption too but still being demonstrated by her people. I think mainly because she has been in power for 15 year and no significant changes so far. Like Mrs. Emma of Mrs. Emma’s project at our retreat houses. If for example she’s classified from a natural village in 2005 and today her income is 250,000 IDR per week as a maid, it means her annual income now is 12,000,000 IDR. At least there’s a change indeed, but a comprehensive research requires an analysis of her expenses. Why she would come to me complaining about her sickness and wage if that’s enough for feeding her families at least. Why the vegetable seller from indigenous community with nine children would not do that even when he might need the most; for example. Freedom and democracy lay in those details where no one understands ourselves than ourselves. Nonetheless, most of the time we need to slap and or being slashed because not all of us have the privileges of being asked of what we want and we need. There where personality science as part of psychology should play a role. Thus we would understand more why sometimes scholars and monks or priests mentioned in the Holy Quran at least tend to also support the corruption itself, directly or not, hidden or obvious.

    XI. Claiming Opaque Victories: Cases of Fatah, Putin, and Venezuela 

Last night I was trying to contemplate the similarities between Fatah, Putin, and Venezuelan cases. Based on a parliamentary election in 2006, Palestinians should actually had been led by Fatah instead of Hamas. Putin won because he killed his opponent. Venezuelans are currently demonstrating towards Maduro’s claim. We are all frustrated indeed. 

Though Fatah seems to be honest and trustworthy, corruption rumours are around the scholar discussions; perhaps that’s how they were forced to be discharged from the power. Putin uses corruption to disunite Europe. Venezuelans are clearly victims of neoliberalism.

The crisis of democracy has made all of us suffered from trusting even more. More I look more I see that only ‘devide et impera’ would allow all of these to happen. Thus most of the time I blame something superstitious for science called dajjal in Islam or anti-Christ in Christianity.

Opaque as opera, it feels like the floods wouldn’t be stopping their flows to remind us how small important thing such as conservation is being undermined. If we pay attention to it at least a bit for example, everyone  will be ashamed to corrupt the conservation money or litter the industrial garbage into the river. The indicators are real: amicable conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, psychopathy Putin who wants Russian empire back, and people are demonstrating in Venezuela. It represents unhappiness in most of us, unless the aggressors and claimers themselves. Such behaviour is interested to research to understand how the tea could warm the mornings, days, evenings, and or nights with less anger and disappointment. 

Next chapters pronto right3 grandpaaaaaaaaaa mi bebé F 😘

love, profcbs 🦋🎧🤍📚🫅🤴 ~