Since the conception of institutions like the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States has arguably been developing a campaign to spread democratic values across the globe. The UNDP highlights three overall goals for democracy and governance: 1) fostering inclusive participation, 2) strengthening responsive governing institutions, and 3) basing democratic governance on international principles (Human Development Reports). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also places a priority on promoting democratic transition and governance in accordance with foreign policy objectives. Because of programs such as these, each year we’ve continually seen steps towards the world becoming increasingly democratic, until recently. My argument is that developing countries that once looked to the United States as a model for governance are now looking to other nations, primarily Russia, as skepticism has increased over the success and stability of the American political system. I think that not only is democracy being threatened on a domestic front in the U.S, but also externally as countries like Russia continue to gain influence in the political sphere with a coercive model of organization.
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council in a recent interview with Interfax, a privately-held independent news agency in Moscow, stated that Russia is “legally and technologically ready to disconnect from the global internet if needed” (The Moscow Times). In November of 2019, the state passed a “sovereign internet law” which gives it the ability to pull its servers from the World Wide Web (Epifanova). This statement was given during the wake of the protests incited by the detention of out-spoken Putin critic Alexei Navalny in late January 2021. A few weeks later, Myanmar's military rulers shut down the country's internet in reaction to the thousands of people protesting against the military coup on February 1st (Myanmar coup BBC). Within the next few days, the Indian government and the Modi administration chose to suspend their internet connection in order to prevent the farmers’ protests from affecting social stability (Hollingsworth). The internet shutdown in these countries shows a regression in the United States’ mission to institute democratic values. Specifically in the country of Myanmar, where a flourishing democratic system started to develop which even culminated in a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party in 2020.
The crackdown on protesters both politically and physically indicates that these regimes are relying more on authoritarian tactics to protect against a possible threat to power. I believe that Putin intends to increase the authoritative measures that he uses to protect his power and the implementation of the “sovereign internet law” will limit the exposure of his activity that would otherwise attract attention and possible intervention from other nations. In addition to this, my argument is that by doing so Russia is setting an example for other countries in the region who are experiencing similar political issues. Whereas before these same countries may have looked to the U.S for political organization, I’m convinced now that Russia's model for political organization is becoming more attractive in the eyes of these developing Asian nations.
Sources:
Epifanova, A., & Officer, A. . Deciphering Russia's "SOVEREIGN Internet Law". https://dgap.org/en/research/publications/deciphering-russias-sovereign-internet-law
Hollingsworth, J. (2021, February 03). India cuts internet around New Delhi as protesting FARMERS clash with police.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/asia/india-internet-cut-farmers-intl-hnk/index.html
Human development reports. http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev
The Moscow Times. (2021, February 11). Russia is 'ready' to disconnect from global internet, MEDVEDEV SAYS. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/02/01/russia-is-ready-to-disconnect-from-global-internet-medvedev-says-a72791
Myanmar coup: Internet shutdown as crowds protest against military. (2021, February 06). https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55960284
Troianovski, A., Nechepurenko, I., Kramer, A., & Higgins, A. (2021, January 31). Navalny protests live UPDATES: Russians Defy Kremlin in Nationwide Demonstrations. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/world/europe/russia-protests-navalny-live-updates.html
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