Tal
9 december 1999
Anna Lindh

Introductory remarks by Foreign Minister Anna Lindh at the IDEA conference "Is Democracy the Road to Peace?", 9 December 1999, in Stockholm

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be here, because this is an important seminar, but also because it gives me the opportunity to meet old friends like Thorvald Stoltenberg.

Dear friends,

During the last ten years we have witnessed a remarkable progress for democracy and democratic values. Many countries have abandoned dictatorship and authoritarian rule. They have entered the complex road to democratic government and to a change of attitudes that must involve the entire population.

Today, almost all European countries are democratic, and the military dictators in Latinamerica have surrendered to elected presidents. In Africa apartheid and one-party systems have lost ground to the benefit of strengthened democracy. And in Asia, the fourth most populous nation of the world, Indonesia, have elected a president this autumn in a democratic process.

When the Soviet-empire collapsed, it was also the end of the cold war. The collapse paved the way for democratization - not only because the the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries could develop into democracies, but also because the US reduced their more or less open support to right-wing authoritarian regimes, when the geopolitical rivalry between the superpowers came to an end.

The conquests of democracy are substantial and important, but have so far not been enough to bring about peace.

I think that one reason might be that we have not adapted to the new situation and realised that we now have better possibilities to use democracy for conflict-prevention. During the cold war nations were pawns in a game of interest-speres – and it was difficult then to intervene with conflict-preventing measures. Now the international community and the UN can discuss, act and react toward individual countries, both in the field of democracy and in conflict-prevention.

We all know that when a conflict has escalated into open violence, it is hard to revert to dialogue. Therefore, we must act at a much earlier stage, before a conflict deteriorates into armed violence. This is a moral, humanitarian and economic imperative – a global responsibility. We need long-term strategies, but also better instruments to deal with the present.

The Swedish Social Democratic Government presented an action plan in May this year, with the aim to strengthen our common ability of preventive measures – changing the focus from crisis management to early preventive action. The plan defines several goals for such efforts:

- To promote a culture of prevention, with the objective to ensure that early prevention becomes the natural response to early warning signals.

- To identify structural risk factors and the causes of conflict, and to take appropriate action. Human rights violations, for example, are often a sign that armed conflict may be about to break out.

- To develop and strengthen the international system of norms and its implementation, as well as the international institutional framework and its preventive instruments.

Dear friends,

I am convinced that democracy, if taken seriously, is both an excellent instrument for conflict-prevention and a prerequisite for lasting peace.

Is democracy the road to peace? I would say it is – even if it is not an obvious or easy road.

1. It is likely to belive that countries with a practice of tolerance and peaceful conflict-resolution within their societies, will act according to the same values internationally.

2. Although democratic decision-making does not automatically solve the problems of a society, democracies seldom let conflicts escalate into violence. Democracies have the possibilities to develop the institutions, resources and flexibility needed to manage conflicts peacefully.

3. Long-term stability and peace require economic and social development, justice and respect for human rights. Democracies are better equipped to enhance such policies.

But democracy also faces new threats, in the time of globalization.

Increased trade and investment, and the rapid movement of capital has promoted growth and led to a decrease in the share of poor during the 1990-ties. But at the same time, the gaps between rich and poor countries, and between rich and poor within countries, have increased.

Today, the capital of the two-hundred most wealthy individuals exceeds the incomes of about 2,5 billion people.

- Globalization promotes growth and wealth - but also growing gaps.

- Globalization can promote human rights and democracy when information and ideas are easily spread by means of mass-communication.

But too often globalization mean a common market economy – without global values such as respect for human rights in common. Then the globalization means immense power of an anonymous, irresponsible and short-sighted market.

Dear friends,

Never before in history, there have been as many democracies in the world as today, on the threshold to the new millenium. This gives us reason to look at the new century with some confidence. But we need to use the new possibilities democracy provides us with, to strengthen conflict-prevention, and we need to strengthen democracy in order to prevent new gaps in the world economy, and new threats to peace. We need to adapt to the new situation!

Thank you!