Given the island’s role in the US-China rivalry – which can be understood as a contest between democracy and autocracy – the recent presidential and legislative elections may turn out to be a kind of bellwether. In any case, believers in democratic principles worldwide have reason to celebrate.
MADRID – International media are brimming with pronouncements that the West is in decline. The institutions that have formed the foundation of the rules-based international order since World War II are on the brink of collapse, we are warned, and the principles that underpin our open societies have been eroded.
These claims are not baseless, and there is plenty of reason to pay attention to them. But it is too soon to write off the West, let alone democracy. At the very least, we should wait to see what happens over the course of this year, when elections will be held in countries representing half the global population.
Of the elections that have taken place so far, Taiwan’s recent presidential and legislative polls are the most significant. Given the island’s role in the US-China rivalry – which can be understood as a contest between democracy and autocracy – the vote may turn out to be a kind of bellwether.
MADRID – International media are brimming with pronouncements that the West is in decline. The institutions that have formed the foundation of the rules-based international order since World War II are on the brink of collapse, we are warned, and the principles that underpin our open societies have been eroded.
These claims are not baseless, and there is plenty of reason to pay attention to them. But it is too soon to write off the West, let alone democracy. At the very least, we should wait to see what happens over the course of this year, when elections will be held in countries representing half the global population.
Of the elections that have taken place so far, Taiwan’s recent presidential and legislative polls are the most significant. Given the island’s role in the US-China rivalry – which can be understood as a contest between democracy and autocracy – the vote may turn out to be a kind of bellwether.