The middle ground is shrinking because the question of the equality of citizens and communities is under serious attack. The recent rise of this phenomenon can be traced to the Western world, but do not forget that Malaysia saw this issue in 1969 and Indonesia too saw attacks on ethnic Chinese earlier, though in the guise of anti-communism.
The question of what role minorities have in a democratic polity has been around for a very long time, and does have its ups and down. When the excesses go too far is when the swing back begins.
In some European countries, Africans and Muslims are now being identified as the new minority. Politics is moving to the idea that they cannot be treated equally. It is a dangerous moment.
Hopefully, the international community will not have to pay the same price as it did in the 1930s (which saw the rise of Nazism) to come back to its senses.
Muslim anxiety in Indonesia and Malaysia, Hindu anxiety in India, white anxiety in the United States... we need to pray that these do not take violent forms. There is a rising chorus of anti-minorityism in many democracies and some are falling prey to majoritarianism.
One of the hypotheses surrounding the global trend towards democratic backsliding is that it is fuelled by the uneven – and unequal – benefits of globalisation. In the West, some politicians have sought to mobilise people by feeding resentment that jobs have moved to Asia.
In Asia, it is hard to identify losers from globalisation and so there is another hypothesis: Globalisation is not only about economic and financial capital transfers and trade but is also accompanied by international migration, which begins to change the ethnic and religious make-up of societies.
- Political scientist Ashutosh Varshney is Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences at Brown University. He is currently working on a multi-country project on cities and ethnic conflict.
SPH Media will be holding a two-day conference on the future of Asia on Oct 4 and Oct 5.
The by-invitation Asia Future Summit 2023 will bring together 300 delegates, thought leaders, policymakers and diplomats, and feature more than 20 speakers. They include Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, former prime minister of Australia John Howard, former United States ambassador to Singapore Jon Huntsman and Mr Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys.
The event at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore, will also discuss the world views of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister who died in 2015 and who would have turned 100 this year.
OCBC is the presenting sponsor of the event.
• OCBC is the presenting sponsor for the Asia Future Summit 2023. The event is also supported by Guocoland and Kingsford Group.
