When the Russian invasion is over, we will all cheer. Democracy has won over oligarchy. What a Hollywood ending.
But was Ukraine ever a real democracy?
Here’s my perspective.
Ukraine got its independence in 1991. Western experts flocked to Kiev to advise the then holders of power. Ukraine replaced most of its communist apparatus with a system that is similar to many European countries. The roles of the president, prime minister, and legislature were well defined. Elected representatives came from one of two streams: proportional representation and constituency representation. Ukraine had no historical baggage to tie it to antiquated democratic systems. Everything was new, shiny, and bright. The best possible structure by the best political scientists of 1991. Let’s call it Democracy 2.0.
The end result was a lot of corruption. A lot of corruption. The corruption was quite open. Billionaires became Ukraine’s political leaders. Organized crime and fascist movements were part of the political landscape. The only real progress was that Russian oligarchs skimming the Ukrainian economy were slowly replaced by Ukrainian oligarchs skimming the Ukrainian economy. Average Ukrainians could not afford to participate fully. They became cynical and apathetic.
Let me just summarize these last two paragraphs. Ukraine got all the great theories of modern democracy in 1991 — and the worst result.
When the War is Over
I believe the world’s Ph.D’s in political science are already jockeying for positions of influence when the Ukrainian government re-organizes itself.
I believe there will be some tinkerings to the current Ukrainian constitution. But how do we improve on something that is already modern? The political scientists will go back to their western universities and their six-figure salaries, somehow believing they have moved Ukraine forward with Democracy 2.1.
I believe that kleptocracy will remain. There will be western aid to help rebuild Ukraine, and a lot of those funds will be siphoned to offshore bank accounts.
I believe most readers can see this all happening. Is 2.1 an improvement over 2.0?
In my opinion, the political scientists have failed to understand that the disease that affects all democracies is THE POLITICAL PARTY.
Until we get rid of the parties, we should expect the same kind of results as we had before. All the tinkerings to current democratic structures — in Ukraine or elsewhere — will not matter that much. Democracy 2.1 is not really an improvement.
Ukraine and the TDG
My few loyal readers know that now it is time for me to unashamedly take this article to promote my alternative democracy: Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG).
The TDG has no political parties, no noisy election campaigns, no simplifying complex issues into 15-second sound bites to appeal to baser intellects, and no big money that can buy or be perceived to buy elections.
Instead, all TDG citizens can vote once a year. They vote for some one locally: someone they probably know personally. They vote for good character and capacity for governance. Individuals with a corrupt inclination will not rise very high in the TDG.
I am not going to be invited to Kiev to talk about the TDG with the political scientists and political leaders. And maybe that’s a good thing, for the TDG cannot be built overnight to replace this flawed system we call western democracy. So we will just have to accept another western democratic sideshow will go through Ukraine again — and won’t provide the result we all so want.
The TDG needs to be built while the current system is still operating and holding society together. The TDG needs to experiment, evolve, and mature until it is ready to assume responsibility for governance.
When 1% of a nation’s citizens buy into the TDG, I estimate a 10-year period for the TDG to move into a 10% level of support. When that 10% takes hold, another decade will be needed for the necessary maturation — and public acceptance.
The TDG is no easy fix — and it will require a long-term, yet dynamic, vision. It will require educating citizens to rethink how they participate in governance. It will require citizens to take their vote very seriously — and be willing to serve the TDG if the TDG elections call them into that service. These new representatives will have to learn how to have meaningful dialogue to make consensual decisions.
Many average people will be in TDG governance. They get these positions because of the trust and respect they earned in the lower tiers, not because of some political party affiliation.
I take hope in that the Ukrainian people, twice in their short democratic history, took to the streets to oust their political leadership when the corruption got too much. Then they found the unity to go to work for democracy.
Instead of preparing for some kind of mass protest to keep the next round of oligarchs in some kind of political line, maybe 1% of Ukrainians can put some of that energy into building this new democracy. They need to put their faith into themselves — instead of the political scientists and their western structures.
For those of us outside of Ukraine, we can start building the TDG in our own locality. If our TDG becomes one of the first well functioning TDGs, we can show it to the rest of the world.
Published on Medium 2022
