Opinion: Democracy is higher up the UK aid agenda, which is good news

When the first of the modern United Kingdom international development white papers were published more than 25 years ago, the world was a different place — the U.K.’s economy was bigger than China’s, mobile technology’s impact on reducing poverty hadn’t even been thought of, and the post-Cold War wave of democratization was in full flow. Maybe because democracy’s progress was taken for granted, development ministries dismissed its fundamental importance for development, and even Amartya Sen’s mantra that development is freedom didn’t land the point. But international development policy has made progress since then — just look at the U.K. government white paper on international development that was published at the end of last month. Just as development policy slowly recognized that reducing conflict, focusing on gender equality, and addressing the climate crisis really matter for reducing poverty, it is now increasingly accepted that deepening democratic governance is a fundamental part of development, responding to climate change, and sustainable peace — not a last-minute add-on. The white paper moves the debate forward in three important ways: First, it recognizes that sustained change needs to be driven and delivered by domestic leaders. Democracy is a task for domestic political reformers, not externally managed regime change. That is obvious to those of us who have been in the business for over 30 years. There is no shortage of leaders in place — not just the ones at the top of government, but community groups, women’s rights advocates, disability organizations, and politicians at all levels — I could go on. As they tackle the challenges in their countries and communities, they want solidarity and resources to amplify their efforts. Second, the sequencing matters — democracy needs to lead the way. Ask any community group in one of the partner countries of the organization I lead, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, what matters to them for their country to make progress: They aren’t waiting for a benevolent dictator to come along. They know what happens when one of those has power for too long. No. They want accountability, the rule of law, and political participation so that they can end corruption and have a voice in decisions. That way, the incredibly hard work that people living in poverty must do every day to survive can instead transform their communities and build thriving, more equal societies. So the white paper’s sections on open societies, whether or not they call it democracy, are a step forward from past editions that elevated “effectiveness” to the top of the governance agenda. This truth is also relevant in a world in which a number of bloody and destructive conflicts are raging. Democracy provides part of the answer. We already understand that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was in large part motivated by Vladimir Putin’s fear that a successful democratic alternative next door would expose the lies of his crushing autocracy. And we know that lasting peace in the Middle East will depend on accountability, the rule of law, and political participation in societies where — more often than not — they have been denied to most people. Third, the white paper gives important nods to how the U.K. can make a difference. The promise of a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office strategy on open societies comes near the end but is exactly what is needed to move work on democracy from rhetoric to reality. Those leading change in their countries and communities don’t need more speeches about democracy, they need investment in sharing knowledge and expertise that will help them deepen their democracies. They need their partners to have a long-term vision, a strategy, and concrete plans. They must always make their own decisions and decide on their own pathways, but they know that studying and the mistakes of others, not least in the U.K., will help them make faster progress. The U.K. can make a real difference by sharing our own expertise. Westminster Foundation for Democracy can play its part in meeting the huge demand from countries around the world. We work with people across the U.K. who live and breathe politics, from local councils to the House of Lords, from Holyrood and Stormont to the Charity Commission, the legal profession, and the BBC. Sharing their stories of how the U.K.’s own political system has evolved will help us to understand each other, build relationships, and consolidate our democracies. This overdue shift in development policy matters because democracy’s progress is no longer taken for granted. Not only that, but the never-before-seen concentration of elections in 2024 risks being more of a democracy car crash than a democracy carnival. One white paper won’t prevent that, but it perhaps does show an understanding that democracy everywhere matters and that if we want to reverse its decline, then we have to invest in it and live up to it. That’s what ending poverty actually means.