What a wonderful conference in the beautiful Prague, Czech Republic, two weeks ago. It was the 28th Forum 2000 conference, attended by people from all over the world. This year’s conference was entitled “Proving Democracy's Resolve and Resilience”.
Forum 2000 can be traced back to year 1997, when Czech’s former president Václav Havel, philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel, invited world leaders to Prague to deliberate on the challenges mankind faced then.
I was honoured to attend the conference, along with fellow African brothers and sisters from various countries across Africa. We spent a week in Prague for the Cool Czechia program organised by Czech's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The speeches and panel discussions at Forum 2000 were insightful. Meeting famed American political scientist and author, Charles Murray, was a great honour.
Democracy and its challenges worldwide
Czech Republic's President, Petr Pavel, spoke about the challenges democratic societies face around the world. Pavel emphasised that defending a democracy is no easy task. It needs stronger institutions. He also said that democracy is closely linked to peace, prosperity, and stability. I couldn’t disagree with that.
The fundamental question of the 21st century is whether democratic countries can invest in their institutions to strengthen democracy. In Africa, the state of democracy is dire, as shown by The Economist 2023 Democracy Index. Africans have very little to no democracy. African leaders and their people haven't invested in the strengthening of democratic institutions.
During the session on Africa at Forum 2000, one of the questions from the audience was on whether democracy works in Africa. An old question I have heard many times.
Whether democracy has worked or is working in Africa is a relevant question. We cannot dismiss it.
In Singapore, a dictatorial political system propelled the people of Singapore to the pinnacle of success over the past decades. With South Korea and Taiwan, you can argue the same thing. Hong Kong is also another case where its people rose to the riches without political freedom.
There is also modern China, which has grown rapidly over the past forty years under one party, the Communist Party of China. There is no competitive, democratic politics in China. Yet that country has managed to elevate millions out of poverty over the past four decades.
Something is common with these countries I have mentioned above. They are all countries of Chinese Asians. It's also important to emphasize that at the time of their development, these countries were run by despots who put the economic development interests of their citizens first. It wasn't dictatorships that just accumulated wealth at the expense of citizens, as most dictatorships have done in modern history.
Most dictatorships are run by people whose mission is merely to accumulate wealth at the expense of the citizens. In his book titled The Capitalist Manifesto, Swedish economist Johan Norberg argues that on net balance, democracies in developing nations have done better when it comes to economic development over the past decades. So, it can be argued that dictatorships that put the development interests of the citizens first are an exception. In Africa, dictatorships have been a disaster.
Frankly speaking, I think economic development is less about the political system and more about economic reform. A dictator and a democratically elected leader can both make right economic reforms that result in a prosperous society.
Former President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen took the stage after President Pavel, and spoke about threats to Taiwan's existence as a democracy.
Tsai Ing-wen is a brave leader, and it was a privilege to be in one conference room with her.
The EU lags behind
The session on Europe’s defence and security was fascinating.
My view is that Europeans should not be, at any point, be reliant on the US on matters of security. The European Union (EU) is a group of powerful nations with remarkable history. They are capable of defending themselves.
Europeans have no control of US politics and will have to deal with whoever wins the upcoming US election.
How Europe deals with the US post-November will be a matter of choices it will have to make. Those choices will be instrumental in the reshaping of the Transatlantic Alliance.
Europeans are aware that they have declined over the past decades. Four decades ago, the EU accounted for 40% of global GDP. In 2021, it was 15% of global GDP.
Mario Draghi, the former prime minister of Italy and former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has published a plan to revive Europe's economy. The EU lags behind the US and China and needs to catch-up as soon as possible, according to Draghi.
Draghi outlines three proposals in his EU recovery plan: closing the innovation gap between the US and China, linking competitiveness to reduced carbon emissions, and making the EU less vulnerable to foreign influence.
The China-Russia influence in Africa
I asked the speakers about China's and Russia's influence in Africa. The influence of these two countries in the African continent is immense. And data from The Economist shows these countries are viewed positively in Africa. There have been protesters carrying a Russian flag in some African countries.
How should the West react, given that it has lost ground in Africa, with China and Russia rapidly expanding their influence in the continent? That was my question.
Jakub Landovský, the Czech former ambassador to NATO, responded to my question by saying that the way forward is EU-Africa partnership that is characterised by mutual benefit and mutual respect.
Charles Burton, the Canadian expert on China admitted that the West has lost Africa to China. I was astonished to hear him say that he did not know how the West could regain its influence in Africa. According to Burton, it looks hopeless.
In conclusion, my opinion is that the Africa-West relations need an urgent reset. With political will from both African and EU leaders, it can be done. The reset should aim to establish a new, fresh relationship that benefits both regions.
On X this week, I posted that all the next US President has to do is strengthen trade and investment in Africa. Nothing more. Investment investment investment! That's what Africa needs. We don't want US welfare. However, Africans have the responsibility to make their countries investable.
Phumlani M. Majozi is author of a new book “Lessons from Past Heroes” and a political economist. He’s the host of The Phumlani Majozi Show on YouTube. Subscribe to his show here: Phumlani M. Majozi - YouTube.
