The Centrist Democrat International (CDI), in an attempt to counter the rise of
civilizationalist states and leaders,
has called for the creation of an alliance of nations, political parties and
faith groups, that would seek to ensure that politics and international
relations remain grounded in humanitarian values at a time of increasingly
unimpeded violations of international law and human rights abuse.
CDI’s call carries weight given that it is the world’s
largest coalition of almost 100 political parties from across the globe,
including ruling parties in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere ranging from
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union to Fidesz, the
party of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, a professed illiberal who
envisions his country as a Christian nation.
The call takes on added significance because it was
issued by a group that traces its roots to European and Latin American
Christian democracy at a meeting in Indonesia, the world’s third largest
democracy and its most populous majority Muslim country, hosted by the largest
Indonesian Islamic political party, the National Awakening Party (PKB).
PKB, founded by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s
largest Muslim organization, joined CDI little over a year ago as part of the
International’s effort to expand its reach beyond Christian democracy and NU’s
advocacy of a humanitarian interpretation of Islam that encourages cooperation
across political, ethnic and religious divides on the basis of a shared respect
for human rights and international law.
The resolution adopted at this week’s CDI executive
committee meeting in Yogyakarta, comes at a moment that Fidesz’s membership in
the European People’s Party (EPP), a CDI affiliate, hangs in the balance.
Fidesz was suspended from the EPP political family last March over
rule-of-law concerns, though the party’s 13 deputies remain part of the EPP
group within the European parliament.
Mr. Orban and Fidesz stand accused of undermining
pluralism in Hungary and removing the country’s checks and balances by stacking
the Constitutional Court with loyalists; reshaping the electoral system to
favour the party; placing dozens of watchdog institutions, including the
judiciary and prosecution service, under the leadership of their allies; and
effectively eroding independent media.
Although a divorce with EPP is likely, Fidesz is
expected to remain a member of CDI, prompting questions what the group means
with its warning about civilizationalist leaders and states.
Mr. Orban was among prominent figures, including
former heads of state and government, who attended the CDI meeting in
Yogyakarta and voted unanimously in favour of the resolution.
Yet, at a news conference immediately after the
meeting, Mr. Orban insisted that Hungary was “a Christian nation” and that
Christianity had to inform all aspects of Hungarian society. He spoke of
living “side by side” rather than with
Muslims.
The CDI resolution came in response to what it
described as the “emergence of authoritarian, civilizationalist states that do
not accept the rules-based post-WWII (World War Two) order, whether in terms of
human rights, rule of law, democracy or respect for international borders and
the sovereignty of other nations.”
The resolution was designed to counter “authoritarian
regimes’ blatant disregard for the fundamental rights articulated in UDHR”
(United Declaration of Human Rights) and re-introduce “moral and ethical
values” into public policy, economics and politics.
The resolution puts flesh on a skeleton that has
fallen by the wayside in the battle to shape a new world order.
Its significance lies in the fact that it
re-introduces the battle of ideas into a global power struggle that has largely
been reduced to geopolitics, geo-economics, big and regional power rivalry and
replacement of adherence to international law with the principle of might is
right.
Equally importantly, it offers an antidote to the rise
of civilisationalism and the civilizational state that seeks its legitimacy in
a distinct civilization rather than the nation state’s concept of territorial
integrity, language and citizenry.
The trend towards civilisationalism feeds off the
politicization of history. It benefits from the fact that 21st century
autocracy and authoritarianism vests survival not only in repression of dissent
and the limiting or denial of freedom of expression.
It creates the basis for an unspoken consensus on
values and principles of governance that are illiberal at best and that would
underwrite a new world order on which men like Mr. Orban, China’s Xi Jinping,
Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed
bin Salman, India’s Narendra Modi, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte and US
president Donald Trump find a degree of common ground.
Civilisationalism is frequently based on myths erected
on a falsification and rewriting of history to serve the autocrat or
authoritarian’s purpose. Men like Messrs. Trump, Orban, and Erdogan project
themselves as nationalist heroes who protect the nation from some invading
horde.
In the final analysis, the CDI resolution constitutes
a call for a continuous and robust discussion of what the principle of moral
and ethical values means and how they are translated into law and policy.
For CDI and Mr. Orban, the litmus test will be how they
move from fudging definitions to determining whether they can find common
ground on translating words into deeds.
