"Democracy and Numbers"

The following is an article by Ibrahim Kalin, an advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister, on the current state of the transitions in the MENA region. First published on Today's Zaman, the original  can be accessed here: http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-323078-democracy-and-numbers.html .Please note that the article does not necessarily reflect the views of Forward Thinking and the opinions and analysis expressed within belong solely to the author. Democracy and NumbersThe coup in Egypt and the developments that have taken place in its aftermath unveil a paradox of democracy: How to manage crowd numbers while remaining within the rules of democracy?In Egypt, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on June 30 to call for President Mohammed Morsi's resignation. The military interpreted this as a green light to stage a coup. After the coup, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on July 3 and since then they have been calling for Morsi's reinstatement. No one can contest the legitimacy of either group. The question is, who decides who has more legitimacy here? Those with greater numbers?After the assassination of a secular political figure, tens of thousands of Tunisians took to the streets on Aug. 3 to support the ruling coalition government against what they considered to be the Tunisian "Tamarrud" in the making. They renewed their commitment to protect their vote against any non-democratic intervention. While no one is talking about a military coup in Tunisia, the numbers on the streets are cited as grounds for removing an elected government.In some ways, Arabs are following the Western model of street democracy, with thousands of people going out to express their opposition or support for a particular issue, party or government. In essence, this is not different from the street demonstrations that we have seen in recent years in Greece, Spain, Portugal, the UK, France and the US, where the most recent example is the thousands of people marching against the court decision in the case regarding the death of Trayvon Martin.The difference is that when people in large numbers take to the streets in Europe and the US, no one looks to the military to do something about it. When Egyptians in large numbers take to the streets, the military stages a coup, and it does so with the blessings of Western democracies and local liberals.This raises a fundamental question about democracy and numbers. When hundreds of thousands of people demonstrate on the streets for or against a particular issue, where do we settle the issue? On the streets or at the ballot box? Citizens can use various intermediaries such as courts, pressure groups, NGOs and the media to revoke or change a particular policy. But in a democracy, it comes down to the ballot box. This, of course, does not mean that the ballot box gives license to undermining democratic institutions. Fundamental rights cannot be violated based on numbers. But when a nation is divided over major policy issues, such as the gun law in the US or austerity measures in Europe, it is the ballot box that provides the most democratic and civilized way to a resolution.This raises a fundamental question about the intricate relationship between popular legitimacy and democratic legitimacy. After the coup in Egypt, a sharp distinction was created between popular and democratic legitimacy on the grounds that having numbers is not enough to rule with legitimacy. There is some truth to this. But if popular legitimacy at the ballot box does not automatically grant democratic legitimacy, then the large numbers on the streets do not secure legitimacy either. For the sake of consistency, we cannot say that the call of the Tamarrud crowds for Morsi's resignation was legitimate but that of the pro-Morsi supporters is not. If every citizen is equal in a democracy, no particular group can claim privileged rights to legitimacy. Who remains in power or goes is decided not by street numbers, military orders or liberal elitism but by the ballot box.If we are to decide on who has and who does not have democratic legitimacy by ourselves, then there is no point in holding elections and referendums. A self-righteous elitism cannot decide who possesses democratic legitimacy and who becomes illegitimate and is thus worthy of being ousted. While democratic legitimacy in terms of maintaining fundamental rights is of paramount importance, a political system where the vote of the people counts for nothing is no longer a democracy.By supporting the coup in Egypt, Western democracies and Arab autocracies have given the green light to the worst kind of street politics. After Egypt, anyone who wants a major change of policy or government will be justified in going out on the streets and calling in the military and international supporters to remove an elected government. But then where do we stop? Should we expect another military coup in the event that the Muslim Brotherhood comes back and wins the next election in Egypt?The ballot box is not everything in a functional democracy. But there is no democracy without it either. A healthy democracy is one where democratic legitimacy is not pitted against popular legitimacy and certainly not used to justify the undemocratic removal of elected governments.