It seems to me that there are very few terms in the modern language that are as powerful and dangerous as democracy. We are told that certain societies and cultures are democratic, while others aren’t. The implication is that those who have democracy are good, and those who lack it are bad.
The Whitestream narrative is that democracy had its beginnings in ancient Athens (a citizenship system based on male descendants of original Athenian males called autochtony) before being passed on to Rome, and later the British Parliament as well as France and America through their revolutions. After which they spread democracy to the darker more uncivilized parts of the world, I argue that not only is this Whitestream narrative of democracy immoral and dangerous, it is also fundamentally wrong. The best cure for this is to open the history books and see for ourselves.
“I argue that not only is this Whitestream narrative of democracy immoral and dangerous, it is also fundamentally wrong”
Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, Northern Syria, Western Iran, Kuwait, and parts of Turkey) is often called one of the cradles of civilizations. It also has a fine claim to some of the world’s oldest democratic traditions.
Shuruppak (what is now south-central Iraq) for instance was a city-state that peaked between 2600-2350 BCE. Power was divided between two chambers, priests and magistrates, who each dealt with different aspects of governance. Sippar (what is now south-central Iraq (1890 to 1590 BCE)) also seems to have been governed by twin chambers, the Upper House of Lords and the Lower House of Commons. There is even evidence that some of the great ancient empires of the Middle East such as Assyria (northern part of Mesopotamia) whose capital was Ashur congregated in assemblies.
Regarding laws, extensive legal codes were developed across the region, the most famous of these is the “code of HAMMURABI,” which was created in Babylon around 1500 BC. We even find examples of elected kings who held office for a limited term. “In the kingdom of Ebla around 2500 BC we find the king was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term and shared power with a council of elders (Benjamin Isakhan, 2012).” Bear in mind all of these developments took place over a millennium before Athenian democracy (500-301 BC).
According to Claude Ake “Traditional Afri[k]an political systems were infused with democratic values […] engendering a strong emphasis on participation” (Ake, 1996). Many traditional Afrikan societies had a socio-political administrative system.
“Traditional Afri[k]an political systems were infused with democratic values”
Claude Ake Rethinking African Democracy in The Global Resurgence of Democracy
The people of Baganda, Uganda are a great example of these principles. Their clan system was a hierarchical structure consisting of several units from the Nnymba (single family) to the Ekika (clan). Each level-up was governed the same as the basic unit and overall governance of the clan was bottom-up by consensus. What’s more, if at any level someone was dissatisfied, they were free to take it higher up. “Each clan member was represented at all levels, and each clan member’s voice was heard all the way up the system through this representation (Benjamin Isakhan, 2012).”
Cuba is often painted by the West as a brutal and dictatorial state. However, according to military historian Hal Klepak “Neither the FRA (Revolutionary Armed Forces) nor even important police resources were ever needed in an internal security role” to quell civil unrest (Klepak, 2012). Clearly, there is more to Cuba than Western propaganda suggests.
The 1990s are referred to in Cuba as the “crisis Period.” Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the US tightening the screws on their half a century-long blockade the Cuban state almost collapsed. This was the context when the fourth CCP was held. “Over six months of debate 3 million workers (85% of the workforce) met in meetings […] to discuss issues delegates would debate (Yaffe, 2020).” The Workers’ Parliaments rejected the proposal to impose income tax or social security contributions on state employees, as a result of this the plans were scrapped.
In 2018, a new Cuban constitution was drafted and distributed across the island to be debated. “Significant changes were made to the draft document following the nationwide debate […] First, and the focus of most international commentary, was the proposal to replace the existing recognition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman with the stipulation that it was a union between two people […] the goal of progressing towards a communist society, which had been omitted in the draft constitution, was reinstated by popular demand (Yaffe, 2020, p. 252).” The amended constitution was put forward to a straight Yes or No referendum in February 2019. It was approved by nearly 87% of voters, with a turnout of over 84%. For comparison, the Brexit referendum had a 72.2% turnout.
I cite these examples not to suggest that they are perfect, exhaustive, or even that they should be replicated in other situations. I merely wish to demonstrate that any one people have never held a monopoly on the history of democracy and once we recognize this, we will further dispel the myth of White superiority.