In a multipolar world democracy is diverse

Democracy has been cherished worldwide for centuries. The practice of this sacrosanct shared human value varies in form and essence from country to country, depending on their respective culture, norms and history which help shape the mode of governance.

In this respect, the different levels of modernization and development, the stages of nation building and the history of nationhood across the developing and least-developed world stand out as the key parameters having a bearing on their diverse polity. This has consistently been the "blind spot" which the developed Western democracies have arrogantly turned a blind eye to. Perhaps from their perspective, the former colonies are nothing more than supplicants, making them easy targets for coercive imposition of Western-style democracy through "regime change", resource plundering and/or cultural subjugation.

On the other hand, China's narrative in support of diversity of democratic practice takes into consideration the nexus between the attainment of people's aspirations and the level of social development capable of supporting it. This is particularly pertinent in the case of the Global South where the relatively young nations, the former colonies of Western powers, have to prioritize the basic subsistence needs of the people vis-à-vis the ballot box that signifies the practice of Western electoral democracy.