All

One must accept that international politics as we read about and knew it then has died a natural death since the coming down of the Berlin wall leaving us with only the Chinese wall. This means, there is no need for President Joe Biden’s Administration to pursue either his own foreign or national policies or the “Make America Great Again” policies of former President Donald Trump. A few months ago, there were images at the US border with Mexico which spread on social media which were not different from those seen during the Trump Administration.

Democracy is one of the most important ideas in human history. Different people in various places, and at various times often hotly debate it, fight for, and even die for it. In Western cultures, it is believed that democracy was invented in Athens, Greece a long time ago (7th century BCE), though the idea and practice also existed in various cultures in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and America in one form or another without necessarily calling it democracy or having it written down. Africans and non-Africans have discussed democracy with respect to Africa in many forums.

Several months ago, we thought we were about to see light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel. Then our high optimism was deflated by the emergence of the D variant of the virus. Again, optimism is rising since more than 70% of the eligible people in the developed countries have now been vaccinated. Unfortunately, the fact that the level of vaccination in the developing countries is still extremely low, thus providing a breeding ground for new variants of the virus which may be resistant to the present vaccines.

Wednesday, September 15, was the International Day of Democracy. It was established through a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 2007, encouraging governments to strengthen and consolidate democracy.