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Ceritalah | How Southeast Asia can avoid the perils of the West’s fragile democracy
- Growing economic inequality has weakened centuries-old democracies, giving an opportunity for Trump and other demagogues to rise
- To avoid the pitfalls the West fell for, Southeast Asia must address the disparity and invest in its people, their health and education
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Angola, Haiti and Cambodia are “banana republics”: countries where the rule of law has been traduced by a man or woman or group seeking their own aggrandisement.
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There is a new addition to this list: the United States. As one of the oldest and proudest of the world’s democracies, this country’s appalling downgrade is testament to one man’s work.
His name is Donald Trump and he is the 45th President. TV reality show star, charlatan and bigot, Trump has “tweeted” his nation’s principles – as articulated by the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights – into a pulp.
Of course, he had help. He has been ably assisted by a coterie of men and women known as “Republicans”. In the years to come, as historians pore over the catastrophe that is the Trump presidency, tracking its dismal, neo-fascist trajectory, one of the most important dates will be his acquittal by the US Senate from impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress on February 5.
The Americans have demonstrated that the highest office in their land and the most powerful in the world – the presidency – can be manipulated for personal gain, that their political elite will actively enable this.
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