Saturday, 10 October 2015
One of the most interesting aspects of globalization is how it has paradoxically created greater demand for and appreciation of localization, that is to say: the growing focus on grassroots democratic participation, preservation of long-cherished cultural traditions, and an emphasis on identity preservation and authenticity in an era of accelerated change and hyper-competitiveness. Despite all its shortcomings and vagaries, many countries continue to view electoral democracy, in its varying forms, as the ideological endpoint of human history. And all attempts at reforms, accordingly, are aimed at making liberal democracies more politically open, socially-inclusive and economically robust.