World Federalist Papers Article Two: Democracy is critical
only democracy can unite the world
Nearly every region of the world has had empires that sought to rule the Earth. China had its Emperors and their concept of Tianxia, to rule all under heaven; Persia bore the first Empire to attempt a world conquest; whilst a vast array of European leaders from Alexander the Great to Napoleon attempted to create a singular globe-spanning Empire. The Islamic world too, with its notions of Dar Al-Islam or “House of Islam” separated those areas under the control of the faithful, and those that were targeted for future subjugation during that faith’s political ascent.
Yet all of these attempts have failed, ripped apart from internal struggles for freedom from those they forcibly incorporated or shattered by neighbouring powers. Imperialism is destined to fail due to its very nature. It inspires conflict and resentment among those who fall victim to it, which eventually causes any polity practising it to collapse.
However, the one political system that never truly dies is democracy. Even after thousands of years of autocratic rule since the fall of the first European democracy, Athens (as well as all of Greece) has strived again and again for democracy. It has shown its universal nature consistently, with people from every corner of the world fighting for a democratic political system. This is due to the strength granted through representation and people power, it is the only system that invites its citizens to take an active, free role in the course of governance.
This is why our global government cannot be an imperial entity, it must be democratic. Democracy is the clay from which our great global union shall be built, it will allow everyone to consent to and protect the World Federation. By having a democratic system at all levels of the government, from the national level to the global federal, we shall avoid the inherent inequalities, contradictions and oppressions found in imperialism.
This starts at the national level - no state that has failed to uphold democracy in their systems may be admitted to the World Federation. These nations will eventually bear the consequences of withholding freedom from their citizens, as they seek the greater opportunities that are present in the World Federation.
Member nations will be few at first, allowing for early system changes and growing pains to be corrected before being applied on a grander scale. The leaders and political parties that win national elections will then go on to the World Federal Government, where they will be allotted seats based on the number of citizens in their polity and by World Federal law.
The next and most challenging stage is to avoid the entrapments of Imperialism within the World Federation. To resolve this issue, a level of political power must be delegated to the nations and states that make up the Federation. However, this has to be executed with caution as too much power given away would render the World Federation nothing more than a glorified League of Nations. The main legislative body leading the World Federation will be the Assembly, made up of those elected representatives of the member states. There shall be, much like in nearly all nations, an independent judiciary and an elected executive, who shall be voted in by all the citizens of the World Federation. In effect, this World Federation will function like a national government does, acting in the interests of its states but beholden to them for legitimacy and function. This relationship is critical to the survival of the World Federation as a democratic entity.
The Assembly and government will have the ability to pass laws. This will grant the peoples of the world the power to address abuses of human rights, the excesses of global capital and climate change. However, no law is upheld if it cannot be enforced, therefore the World Federation must have an international enforcement arm, a police force and a defence force that can actively defend the rule of law from member states or competitors abuses. Unlike current international law, this universal application will ensure that all nations, both developed and developing, are treated equally. No more will it just be those countries who are poor that feel the weight of international law.
A World Federation must be a democracy; it is the most stable political system conceived by humankind and the only one that can ensure a non-imperialist, world-spanning government. Furthermore, by demanding that all governments within our union are democratic, we create a pan-national ideology that sweeps away the petty differences that have held our world back from reaching its full potential. Finally, democracy is the right and just course, a method of governing that allows injustices and slights to be mended, that gives all a voice and holds no man sacred or above the law.