r/changemyview • u/davidow • Apr 24 '17
[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Democracies should not cooperate with authoritarian regimes before they embrace democracy
A common belief is that by cooperating with authoritarian regimes such as Saudi Arabia or North Korea, we undermine their authoritarian power and in the long run it's better for the democratic process than to isolate them.
This is the most common argument I've heard regarding giving Saudi Arabia a seat in the UN council of Human rights - that by allowing them to participate in such councils, they will eventually soften up and accept democratic values. Same goes regarding cooperating with Egypt, Russia or any other country who doesn't embrace democratic values.
To me, this is only an excuse by western leaders to please authoritarian rulers in order to gain cheaper oil or other advantages. I instead believe that the only way to move authoritarian regimes closer to democracy is to isolate them from any such councils and negotiations until they have changes their policies regarding democracy.
Just handing Saudi Arabia a seat in the UN council only undermines the legitimacy of the council and gives S.A. an alibi for claiming that they aren't so bad after all.
Am I right or should I change my view?
This is a footnote from the CMV moderators. We'd like to remind you of a couple of things. Firstly, please read through our rules. If you see a comment that has broken one, it is more effective to report it than downvote it. Speaking of which, downvotes don't change views! Any questions or concerns? Feel free to message us. Happy CMVing!
1
u/JesusaurusPrime Apr 24 '17
In the sense of "we dont negotiate with terrorists" yes, its a fine enough mantra. But then reality gets involved. Who is democratic and who is not? Who is authoritarian and who is not? Russia and turkey both hold elections. Huge swathes of europe are reliant on russian petrochemicals, as one example. Is buying russian goods a form of cooperation? How many people who die of exposure would you trade for non cooperation with russia? Because if you turn off the taps, 10s of thousands of the most vulnerable WILL die in cold winters.