BBC World Service kör just nu en serie som heter ”Who Runs Your World” som undersöker det samtida maktbegreppet och maktförhållandena i världen. Eftersom jag tycker att makt i alla dess former är oerhört central för alla konflikter och förhandlingar som vi är involverade i, från stormiga partnerrelationer till terrorbalanser, så följer jag serien med stort intresse.
BBC presenterar i samband med serien undersökningen ”The Voice of the People” som gjorts av Gallup (en riktig gallup-undersökning m.a.o, bara det) i 68 länder. Även om både Kina och större delen av arabvärlden saknas så är det en både tankeväckande och lärorik sammanställning. Världen ser inte alltid ut som man tror.
BBC skriver om undersökningens resultat att:
”I do not find it surprising that the main result of a survey of world public opinion suggests that only 30% of people feel that their country is governed by the will of the people. This in my view indicates a healthy disrespect for governments in those countries which are governed reasonably well and an understandable lack of trust in those which are not.
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What is new these days perhaps is that more people around the world can actually express an honest opinion.
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It would have been an even worse sign if the results had been otherwise. We do not want any of those referendums in totalitarian and dictatorial countries which regularly showed over 90% government approval and, in Saddam Hussein’s case, over 100%.
Some examples of the levels of dissatisfaction with modern government: 65% in Western Europe, 73% in Eastern and Central Europe (worrying that post-communist governments have not done that well), 60% in North America, 61% in Africa, 65% in Asia-Pacific, 69% in Latin America.
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Only in Scandinavia, South Africa and Israel did citizens think their countries were governed in line with popular demands.”