American democracy in disarray

Democracy was always a contested notion. The was no real democracy in ancient Greece for women or slaves. The self-proclaimed ‘mother of democracies’ is under a third term of Modi’s ultranationalist regime, which has made life miserable for the country’s sizeable religious minorities. The democratic notions proudly upheld by the US are hardly in good shape either.

Thoman Jefferson, who penned the famous words declaring all ‘men’ to be entitled to the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, was himself a slave owner. However, by the dint of its hegemonic power, the US has created an image for itself as “that shining city on a hill” that can serve as a model for the rest of the world for adopting representative and responsive governance. Increasingly, however, America’s image as an upholder of democratic ideals has taken a major battering.

Despite the pomp and spectacle, the ongoing presidential race in the US has demonstrated with increasing clarity how unstable and scary its domestic politics has become. The Democrats have been in an increasing state of panic recently due to President Biden’s evident unfitness to occupy the most powerful office in the world for another four-years term. Biden kept brushing aside concerns regarding his ability to function despite his blunders during the Presidential debate at the end of June, and soon thereafter, at the NATO press conference. Then, when he tested positive for Covid-19, many senior party members intensified their efforts to push him out of the presidential race. It was not only Democratic leaders but a large majority of Democratic supporters who really wanted Biden to quit the race. This pressure finally worked, and just a few days ago, Biden announced he was quitting the race and he endorsed Vice President Kamila Harris as a presidential nominee instead.

Whether other presidential hopefuls will drop out or compete for the presidential nomination remains to be seen. Who will be chosen as a Vice President to this mixed-race woman presidential candidate is another major question. The current uncertainty may prevail until the Democratic National Convention (DNC) scheduled for mid-August, resulting in a messy and competitive last-minute debate between multiple candidates.

On the flip side, Donald Trump has accepted the Republican presidential nomination, just a few days after he was nearly killed in an assassination attempt, and not long after being convicted of nearly three dozen felony counts in New York. He has, however, managed to dominate and transform the Republican party over the past decade into a populist, anti-immigration and anti-establishment platform.

Trump’s economic vision is a mix of protectionist prescriptions such as trade restrictions and typical neoliberal tactics that offer larger tax cuts for the affluent. It is thus no wonder that Trump has no dearth of billionaires funding his campaign. Simultaneously, Trump has been trying to coopt working class voters and trade unionists by his anti-immigrant rhetoric and promises of ‘better’ trade deals.

Logically, the present circumstances should favour the Democrats. America no longer has its armed forces engaged in a major ground offensive. America’s GDP is growing, and unemployment is low. Most incumbent parties have won the elections under similar circumstances. However, besides his age and mental decay, Biden’s inability to dissuade Russia from its assault on Ukraine, and to prevent Israel from committing atrocities on the Palestinian people, may have already cost the Democrats many minority and progressive voters. Even if the DNC nominate Harris as their final candidate, and she manages to find a vice president who can attract more ‘traditional’ voters, this new Democratic duo may not energise all eligible voters to come and cast their votes. The American progressives, for instance, may remain unconvinced that a success-oriented and career-focused woman, even if she is of mixed Indian and Black descent, will make the US less inequitable or less hegemonic. At the same time, however, many of the disillusioned American voters also tremble at the thought of an increasing authoritarian, xenophobic and environmentally recklessness administration which may be ushered in via another Trump win.