Summary of the Special Talk “The Totalitarian Temptation”
14 October 2021. On 6 October 2021, Saad Mohseni (Afghan-Australian media entrepreneur and co-founder and chairman of the MOBY Group), Dr Claudia Major (Head of the International Security Department at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP), and Dr Can Dündar (top Turkish journalist and editor-in-chief of Özgurüz) discussed the state and future of democracy at the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium. Moderated by the international TV presenter Ali Aslan, the panel analysed in particular the rise of totalitarian regimes and the mistakes Western governments have made in dealing with Afghanistan, Turkey, the Middle East and also Africa and China in their attempts to export democracy.
In 2002, Saad Mohseni established the Moby Group, the first private, independent media company in post-Taliban Afghanistan, where women also work as journalists and presenters. He thus helped shape the country’s development into a democracy for almost 20 years and has now experienced the erosion of progress by the Taliban at first hand. He was in Afghanistan for the last time at the end of July.
Mohseni, whose station and its 400 staff are still active in Afghanistan, stressed that the last few years had not been in vain in view of the current situation. Unlike in the mid-1990s, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, this time around, women demonstrated in the streets for their rights, civil society actors initiated campaigns for girls’ education and the Taliban had to have discussions with women and civil society on television. This was unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago and of course has something to do with the education system, which has also given girls access to schools and universities.
But an erosion of democracy has not only been seen in Afghanistan, but also in educated Western societies around the world, including in Europe, where illiberal democracies have taken hold, not least in Poland and Hungary.
Claudia Major recalls Francis Fukuyama, who in his 1989 book “The End of History” argued that after the collapse of the USSR, the principles of liberalism in the form of democracy and a market economy would soon prevail everywhere. The crucial question, according to Major, is why democracy has lost this effect, the other is how we get it back. The temptation to roll back democracy in favour of totalitarian regimes is not taking place loudly and visibly with coups and revolutions, but in a quiet, subtle way, an undermining of democratic institutions, rights and freedoms, both in Afghanistan and Turkey and in European countries. There have been reductions in media freedom, an erosion of media and education systems and restrictions on freedoms. “You don’t actually see things changing, but at some point you stand there and say: Wait a minute, that’s not a democratic state anymore, because freedom of education, freedom of expression, etc. have suddenly disappeared.” You only have to look at the insidious processes in countries like Poland or Hungary.
This includes the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the undermining of arms control treaties, which are indications of the legal democratic order being abandoned, both nationally and internationally.
Can Dündar, who has been living in exile in Berlin since 2016 and runs his independent German-Turkish news platform Özgürüz (We are free) from there, pointed out the mistakes that the USA and European countries have made in dealing with the Middle East over the last 40 years. The first mistake the Americans made was to use Islam against communism and to support the Islamists, which led to the founding of Al-Qaida. The second mistake was the attempt to install a moderate Islam instead of radical Islam and to support, for example, the Turkish president Erdogan and other leaders. However, they made no attempt to consider promoting the liberal or secular forces in these countries. And when the refugee crisis came about in 2015, Europe had no choice but to pay Erdogan to stop the flow of refugees into Europe. When it comes to the political interests of Western European countries and the USA, they are prepared to sacrifice democratic principles. This weakens democracy as a whole.
Claudia Major added that after the end of the Cold War, Germany had believed itself to be on the good side of history, having won against the Soviet Union, which showed that the liberal world was winning. This gave rise to the fallacy that if we only cooperate closely enough with other countries that do not have a democratic system, they would thereby become a liberal and economically free country. However, we see today that this didn’t work. The wake-up call was the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in Donbass, and the recent alarm call regarding China, Major said. The approach of this foreign policy had clearly proved to be wrong. What led to the reunification of Germany had not worked worldwide, and this realisation was a frustrating lesson and difficult to digest.
Saad Mohseni said that “many values that are so important to us are internationally recognised, universal values like freedom of expression, freedom of speech. These are not just Western freedoms.” The lessons from Afghanistan are that it takes time and that above all you need an educated social class, a civil society in which women’s rights and freedom of speech and expression prevail. At the same time, of course, the supporters of this democratic process should not be the ones promoting corrupt politicians. Can Dündar added that Germany, which was able to become a democratic country through a lot of support and time, should also support democratic forces and countries worldwide. “You can’t just close the door”, he said, totalitarianism and authoritarianism is “like air pollution, it doesn’t stop at borders”.
The central democratic political role of the media was also discussed by the panellists. In Turkey, according to Can Dündar, almost all media institutions are controlled by the government and are purely propaganda machines. Which is why he and his team attempt to reach out to the people in Turkey from afar, which is not exactly easy under the circumstances. Extreme caution is required so far away from the reporters on the ground and from the sources, and of course funding is also a problem.
Social networks also played a major role, according to the discussants. On the one hand, they are helpful and often indispensable when it comes to reaching readers, viewers and target groups. On the other hand, fake news is spread uncontrollably on a massive scale through them; there are opaque algorithms, a lot of sensationalism, excitement, racism, sexism and violence, which leads to further divisions within society.
Nevertheless, access to media plays a central role in democratisation processes – and education. He hopes that one day – perhaps as early as ten years from now – his country will be where Germany is today, he said. Currently, one-third of Afghans have access to smartphones; one day it may be 80% or 90%. This, and access to education, helps people to differentiate and therefore children “need to acquire the ability to read and listen to different views and opinions at school and at home and not be in an echo chamber, a bubble”.
Claudia Major pointed out that after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the aggressive Russian foreign policy in the Baltic countries, journalism in particular should be promoted and journalists should be supported in order to be able to counter false news from Russia. To be able to analyse and better interpret media and develop a stronger resilience to fake news. That is why it is necessary to invest in journalism everywhere, especially where it is difficult to access. And you also have to train the population to recognise good journalism.
Something that is often overlooked in this context, Major continued, is the influence of think tanks and science from outside. For example, some groups attempt to influence the scientific discourse by threatening scientists or trying to determine the discourse in certain subject areas, such as the pandemic or the origin of the pandemic. That is why it is important to defend scientific and academic freedom. “We should know who is funding which chair, which think tank, because freedom of thought is as important as freedom of the press and freedom of expression.”
Regarding the increasing fragmentation and polarisation in society in many countries, Claudia Major shared the impression that “in recent years we have realised that democracy is a critical infrastructure that we need to protect just like our energy systems”. Whether in the media or education, we have to “stand in opposition to our public opinion and research being undermined by other countries, we have to screen, not only in terms of Russian and Chinese influence in the national economy, but also in the media landscape”. I think there is an awareness process.”
Despite the current state of democracy, Can Dündar is optimistic about the future. We have all learned a lot from the pandemic and he had the impression that in many societies social tendencies were starting to get stronger again, be it in the USA or in Germany. It is important that education and media are further strengthened and supported. As far as his home country is concerned, Dündar is confident “that we will soon have an end to this dark period of time”. Because it is also clear to see in Turkey that politics and Islamism cannot live together; religion must be separated from politics. The opposition alliance is becoming more powerful, he said, and his hopes are high that a democratic alliance will win in Turkey’s next elections.
Saad Mohseni pointed out that what happens in Afghanistan will not stay in Afghanistan. The dictatorial regime will force millions of people to leave the country. “Afghanistan is two countries away from Europe: Iran, Turkey and then comes Europe. And if Europeans are really concerned and worried about Afghanistan, they need to be concerned about what is happening in Afghanistan”, he said. He advised sitting down with the Taliban and engaging in the region. Which does not mean recognising the Taliban. But the regime must be dealt with, he said, otherwise there will be hunger, mass cleansing and even greater poverty. “90% of the population lives below the poverty line. There are difficult times ahead for the country, the world must take action.” It was time for Germany to take a leadership role, especially in Afghanistan and Turkey. “Because everything that happens in Afghanistan does not necessarily stay in the country. It will have an impact on Germany, Turkey and other countries.
Democracy, it was unanimously agreed, is fragile, with critical infrastructure that we need to protect just like our energy systems. And it cannot be taken for granted. We have to fight for it.
