As we said in the previous sections, several democratic governments were overthrown by dictatorships of various types during the early decades of the present century, such as in Russia by a Communist dictatorship, in Italy by Fascist dictatorship or in Germany by Nazi dictatorship. Later on, many more dictatorships were established in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The success of dictatorial system of government was so great that democracy was then believed to be doomed to extinction for ever. But the tide of dictatorial system turned in the middle of the eighties of the twentieth century. Indeed, the year 1988 can be regarded as the turning point in the political history of mankind when, one after the other, dictatorial governments were overthrown and replaced by democratic or near-democratic governments in several countries of Europe, Asia and Latin America.
They are, firstly, the Soviet Union. A totalitarian dictatorship had existed in it from about 1928, when Stalin rose to power and established a highly repressive dictatorship in the country. It lasted till Mikhail Gorbachev assumed power and became the President of the USSR in 1990. He has modified Soviet totalitarianism to some extent under his programmes of glasnost (openness) and perestroika or restructuring of the political and economic systems in his country and more reforms are promised by him. Following the Soviet example, democratic reforms have been introduced in the Soviet – dominated Communist countries in Eastern Europe, as for example in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovak and East Germany. In East Germany, the democratic wave has surged so far that the rebellious mobs of East Germany have pulled down the Berlin Wall which had curtained off East Germany from the democratic West Germany for the last 30 years. The people of East Germany have, now for the first time, the right to travel freely to West Germany.
Soviet Union has also relaxed restrictions on foreign travel for its citizens. As a result, thousands of Jews are leaving Soviet Union to settle in Israel and other countries of the West. In Eastern Europe, Romanian Communist system was overthrown by a bloody revolution against the dictator, in early 1990. In China, North Korea and Vietnam in the Far East some economic reforms and market economy are being re-introduced. But democratic reforms and liberalism are still frowned upon in these countries. So is the case in the Communist Cuba in Latin America. Even in the Soviet Union, democracy has been, so far, only partially introduced. For instance, no civil rights are yet granted to the Soviet citizens.
In the non-Communist countries of the world, dictatorships are also being undermined. In Pakistan, for instance, the military dictatorship of Gen. Zia-ul Haq came to an end and democratic government was ushered in 1988 Two years earlier, Marcos dictatorship was overthrown in Philippines and democratic government was established under its woman President, Corazon Aquino. In South Africa, the White racialist Government, which had denied human rights and democracy to its Black majority by means of the cruel system of racial segregations, called apartheid, is now introducing some democratic rights by abolishing apartheid and granting to the Black majority the right to vote in general elections: In South America, also, several dictatorships have been or are being overthrown and democratic governments set up such as in Argentina. El Salvador, Chile, etc.
In short, a democratic wave is surging up in one country after another all over the world. Nevertheless, in several countries, the old and new dictatorships are still going strong. For example, in Burma, the military dictator has crushed the democratic upsurge in the country. In several Arab countries, monarchical autocracy and dictatorships still exist, e.g. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Libya and Iraq. In these countries, no opposition parties exist and their citizens do not enjoy such civil liberties as the freedom of the press, of opinion and political right to vote and elect governments of their choice.
Even in India, which claims to be the “biggest democracy” in the world, its Muslim and other non-Hindu minorities do not enjoy many civil and political rights, even though these are guaranteed ‘to them on paper by its Constitution. The Indian Muslims are the most oppressed community in this Hindu-dominated country. They are denied the religious right to worship in their own way and their places of worship, such as Babri Masjid in Ajodhiya in northern U.P., are have been demolished while hundreds of Muslims have been killed and many more maimed and their houses burnt down or demolished by the fanatical Hindu mobs.
All this shows that democracy has not as yet won full, complete and universal victory over dictatorship and dictatorial ways of government all over the world. However, it is now undeniably certain that democracy will finally triumph all over the globe during the 21st century and dictatorships and tyrannies of all types will be totally condemned and discarded by the whole mankind.