The insecurity of power

Listen to article

For millennia, humankind has feared ferocious beasts, unforeseen calamities, "divine retributions", forces beyond comprehension, and natural phenomena beyond their control. Notwithstanding the powerlessness and inherent ignorance in prehistoric times, some individuals seized opportunities to emerge as leaders — such as the 'big men' or chiefs — who embodied mythical figures like Prometheus, Heracles, Theseus, Perseus, Apollo and Asclepius, selflessly pursuing their people's welfare and guiding them, however briefly and imperfectly, to safety and light.

This was primarily because the legitimacy of most of them was rooted in transparency, proven abilities and a consensus built sincerely, albeit informed by limited knowledge. However, as societies became more complex and knowledgeable, so did the rules of legitimacy and the nature and scope of transactions between the rulers and the ruled.

The evolution of language, which drives reason, logic and philosophy, has equipped humans with reliable tools to examine themselves and their environment, shedding light on their ignorance and gaining a deeper understanding of their surroundings. From nascent reasoning to the Socratic and dialectical methods, and from the Age of Enlightenment and the Renaissance to the dawn of the scientific method, all helped liberate humankind from threats - real or perceived - posed by nature and from fears rooted in nature's apparent meaninglessness or the metaphorical tabula rasa of human cognition.

These developments, which have dispelled the fog of ignorance and introduced humanity to greater knowledge, ethical understanding and political education, should ideally have fostered greater transparency in statesmanship and collective affairs, promoting an informed collective will and legitimacy in statecraft. However, greater knowledge has fostered enlightened deceit and hypocrisy, which perpetuate carefully controlled ignorance or empower influential figures with vested interests in society, thus fostering opacity and undermining legitimacy in modern statecraft and statesmanship.

This manifests, among other ways, in the rising authoritarianism and securitisation of democracies worldwide. Under the guise of the people's will, totalitarian and Orwellian tendencies are being fostered by the very institutions and leaders tasked with upholding democratic values. Consequently, hard power and brute force supplant the collective public will, imposing self-serving policies that disregard the interests of the people.

Although marked by authoritarianism and disdain for the people's will, such regimes rarely abandon democratic forms entirely for three reasons: First, a democratic façade shields them from international sanctions. Second, it legitimises their authority under the pretense of democracy. Third, it sustains false hope among the populace, thereby deterring rebellion against those in power.

This is because, unless informed, transparent and popular, those in power - whether individuals or institutions — tend to channel most of their resources and energy into masking their insecurities, sustaining their authority, and guarding their misdeeds against potential retribution. In other words, power obtained through questionable means or brute force both stems from and reveals underlying insecurities, driving all efforts to maintain it. This underlying insecurity of power ultimately and inevitably succumbs to the weights of its follies, corruption and abuse. Had it not been so, all the states that our status quo gets inspiration from would not have been consigned to the dustbin of history.

Thus, rather than being lasting and self-sustaining, the autocratisation of democracy is both a cause and a manifestation of insecurity, fear of losing control, and potential retribution for wrongdoings. In other words, authoritarian power reflects the hidden insecurities of vested interests, ill-gotten resources, and fear of retribution for past transgressions. Like dogs or snakes that strike when threatened, authoritarian power escalates aggression toward its people as its insecurities deepen. These insecurities drive further aggression and unlawful acts, ultimately leading the regime to collapse under the burden of its errors, delusions and misdeeds.