Topic: 2025 – Authoritarianism and Democracy
Country: Canada
Delegate Name: MyLinh Vuong
Committee: Special Political Committee
Topic: Authoritarianism and Democracy
Country: The Dominion of Canada
School: Forest Hills Central High School
The Delegation of Canada considers the rise of authoritarian influence and foreign interference to be one of the most significant threats to global stability and democratic governance. For the past two decades, we’ve watched as countries continue to fall to authoritarian rule. Some countries have free and fair elections with citizen participation and prioritize the protection of civil liberties, such as New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland. Others are experiencing authoritarian expansion and democratic erosion in regions such as Western Asia, parts of Africa, and parts of Asia-Pacific and Central Asia, with countries such as China, Russia, and Iran identifying as autocratic regimes. These countries have experienced the consolidation of power in the hands of small ruling elites with no meaningful checks and balances. There is also tight control of information and the digital space in which state-run media and censorship manage narratives. The ruling class is making the trade-off of human rights for complete political power. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the global balance of power shifted from a world with an international political structure dominated by two superpowers to one with American global dominance. This led to the emergence of new independent states, the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, and a shift toward a more multipolar world. (Soviet Collapse Altered Ongoing World Power Balance). This prompted many to assume that democracy had “won,” reducing alertness, while Russia and China reinforced an authoritarian alternative. These nations have greatly grown in global power, and their influence continues to expand. As an electoral democracy, Canada wants nothing more than to prevent democratic backsliding in new democratic nations and protect people’s civil liberties and human rights.
Canada’s system of government is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, which consists of three parts: the King, represented by the governor general; the Senate; and the House of Commons. In their electoral districts, citizens elect candidates to represent them in the House of Commons. The right to vote is the most important liberty a government can provide for its citizens. Therefore, through years of reform in the twentieth century, we have come to prioritize and protect this right in many ways, such as accessibility improvements, expanding the right to vote, increasing transparency and fairness, improvements in institutional checks, and more (A History Of The Vote). Even now, we are working to ensure that Canadians can maintain their trust in Canada’s democratic institutions. Accordingly, it is meaningful to us if all people of the world have the same trust in their government.
Countries of the UN are meant to work together for global peace and protect democracy; however, the Security Council’s veto power and the lack of enforcement mechanisms have made this goal unachievable. The UN is unable to promote unity among its members due to Russia’s continued participation in the UN General Assembly and the lack of action by other assembly members in condemning delegates. A nation’s use of anti-democratic tactics to further its cause and the failure of democratic nations to cooperate are inevitable results of this lack of unity. The global environment has shifted significantly; therefore, Canada can no longer rely on the same outdated international order or the full protective “shield” of US leadership. The solution best seen by Canada is to support multilateral frameworks that defend democracy, but also invest in bilateral diplomacy with major authoritarian states. Furthermore, the international community can help break the regime’s stranglehold by supporting those who expose the regime’s lies and challenge its narratives. Most importantly, there must be advocacy to defend democracy and human rights.
Work Cited
https://www.canada.ca/en/democratic-institutions/services/democracy-canada.html
https://www.voanews.com/a/soviet-collapse-altered-ongoing-world-power-balance-136071823/170964.html
https://www.cigionline.org/articles/democracy-authoritarianism-and-canadas-sovereign-course/
https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=his&document=index&lang=e
https://international.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/corporate/transparency/briefing-documents/briefing-books/2021-01-foreign-affairs?utm_source
https://democratic-erosion.org/2022/05/06/the-fall-of-the-union-the-failure-of-the-un-to-promote-democracy/#:~:text=Russia%27s%20continued%20participation%20in%20the,others%20to%20do%20the%20same
