Complex Issues Of Our Time: Ecological Disruptions, Democracy, And Global Order
Today’s world is in the grip of a pressing and complex mix of challenges: climate change, authoritarianism and nationalism, and the rising power of Russia and China in challenging the current unipolar global order, which has been sustained by Washington-led multilateralism.
The misuse of ecological resources poses a significant and immediate threat to democratic systems and international order. The intersectionality of these issues – ecological disruption, democracy, and global order- is not just a coincidence but a stark reality. They are deeply intertwined, each exacerbating the other, and their solutions cannot be found in isolation. It is crucial that we pool resources and engage in globally coordinated efforts to address them collectively.
It’s clear that no single country can fully marshal the financial wherewithal to address these existential threats. Beyond the resource constraints, free-riding by many countries is gradually sprouting into inaction and exacerbating the situation. The profound consequences of continuous inaction for human progress cannot be overstated.
The current insufficient policy shifts, free-riding, weak prioritisation, and inadequate resource allocation weigh heavily on these menaces. Only through a united front, where countries and global institutions work together, can we effectively address the threats posed by climate change, the erosion of democracy, and the shifting global order doctrine. One needs to understand the nature of these existential threats before attempting to proffer some solutions.
The first trifecta is the climate crisis, which is akin to a raging inferno devastating humanity. Human activities remain the primary driver of climate change. Already, efforts to combat the ecological disruptions seem to have lost momentum as economic costs mount.
Thousands of species are on the brink of extinction due to overexploitation. We are currently witnessing biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and altered natural processes resulting from ecological disruption. Also, the distribution of environmental benefits or burdens is highly unequal. Developing countries seem to be bearing a large share of the cost of climate change despite their paltry contributions to the crisis.
The world is already experiencing alarming temperature trends, with record highs recorded for most of 2024, surpassing historical levels since the Industrial Revolution. Global floods have become a regular occurrence, and droughts have intensified even in regions where they were once rare. Forest fires continue to ravage the world, vandalising farmlands, properties and animals.
These ecological disruptions are not just a distant threat but a present reality, having severe consequences for human health, access to clean water, and food production, underscoring the gravity and urgency of the situation.
Again, as technology use skyrockets, so does its ecological footprint. The high electricity consumption from data and cryptocurrency centres, along with the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, are significantly fueling the climate crisis. It’s crucial to acknowledge the role of technology in this crisis and to ensure that technological advancement is not just rapid but also responsible and sustainable.
Other anthropogenic sources, such as agriculture, transportation (road and aviation) and industrialisation, must be modernised and optimised to reduce their climate footprint. Though very little can be done about the natural climate variabilities, their impact on global warming is minimal.
The next whammy relates to the threats to democracy, as many countries have turned to despots in recent times. It is a fact that democracy has survived many challenges because of its political, social and economic dividends. These dividends include the protection of human rights, social safety, freedoms, improvements in the standard of living, access to good social amenities, and efficient management of economic resources, among others. Democracy has primarily helped to maintain global stability and cooperation among nations.
However, democracy has not efficiently delivered all its inherent benefits worldwide despite the substantial progress, especially in the Western world. Recent developments, including the rise of the far-right in Europe and the hush political rhetoric by leading politicians and commentators in both developed and developing countries, appear to exacerbate political cleavages, thereby exposing the deep-seated cracks in democratic systems.
In 2024 alone, over 64 countries, representing nearly half the world’s population will head to the polls. Already, countries like Russia, Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and India have all had their elections. The results of these elections have been mixed, with the UK having a complete change in government. Many more, including America, Ghana, Rwanda, Romania, and Sri Lanka, have yet to hold theirs. Unfortunately, many of these elections will be a sham, given that the outcomes are predetermined.
At the same time, many countries in the last five (5) years have walked away from democracy, thereby plunging their countries into authoritarian forms of government. For instance, Africa, in recent times, has seen a rise in military takeovers and the creation of despots, including Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), Chad (April 2021), Guinea (September 2021), Sudan (October 2021) and Burkina Faso (January and September 2022) and Niger July 2023.
The gradual jettison of democracy, if left unchecked, may complicate and speed up the decay of existential threats. Depleting democracy will undoubtedly have acute implications for climate change and global stability. The collapse of democratic institutions anywhere may debilitate efforts to restore ecological balance and tackle the environmental apocalypse. Similarly, an escalation in geopolitical conflicts could undermine global efforts to deepen and bolster democratic values and address the pressing ecological crisis.
Global order has come under a great deal of strain in recent times from different angles: economic difficulties, health security, migration, climate change, technological disruptions, wars and heightened human rights abuses. These developments have called into question the systems and institutions designed post-Cold War to maintain global peace and order.
Many have questioned the effectiveness of the global community, which was ostensibly founded to promote multilateralism, representative democracy, free market, and human rights. The recent barrage of attacks on global order appears to weaken global governance poles, rendering them increasingly incapable of driving meaningful change. Though the rationale for instituting global order was to instate systems that would preserve global political stability, the recent tumultuous events have exposed a wide range of shortcomings and systemic flaws in this framework.
Some commentators have argued that the recent geoeconomic and geopolitical tensions indicate a failing and increasingly fragile and fragmented global community. Conversely, others contend that the international order is merely transforming and adapting to the new world order, which hinges on inclusiveness and respect for divergent views. Ultimately, these shifts must culminate in creating a new world order that works for everyone.
To achieve this, the global governance architecture must be revamped to become broader and more adaptive without compromising the world’s dynamism and interconnectedness. Most importantly, global order may be maintained only when we align our shared experiences and collaborate to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome for the larger society.
It is worth noting that humanity will continue to face these existential threats. However, these issues must attract the attention of policymakers to give them the prominence they deserve. The potential for these threats to exterminate humanity is also real. Therefore, the world does not have the luxury of time to dillydally on them. We must strive to protect the world’s ecosystem, democracy, and global order while addressing the identified shortcomings to make them beneficial to the entire human race.
