Last year was, for sure, a year of tumult and political upsets. Britons voted to leave the European Union and Donald Trump won the US presidential election – results that stunned nearly all the pundits (although keen readers of The National may remember that I wrote a column in February titled Why Hillary won't win the race to the White House).
To some, however, it was far worse than that. 2016: Worst. Year. Ever?" asked The New York Times, while The Wall Street Journal bade "good riddance to a crummy 2016" which had apparently caused "widespread bitterness". How could it have been quite that bad? According to the theorist Kenan Malik, British supporters of the EU "suddenly found themselves, as they see it, in a nation full of xenophobes, bigots and ignoramuses".
America, wrote the economist Paul Krugman this week, “is rapidly turning into a stan” – a reference to the Central Asian republics he describes as “ruled by strongmen who surround themselves with tiny cliques of wealthy crony capitalists”. Mr Krugman warned: “We’re entering an era of epic corruption and contempt for the rule of law, with no restraint whatsoever.”
In the face of such wild overreactions, two things will be necessary in a year during which we are sure to witness plenty of other “shocking” events, such as Marine Le Pen reaching the second round of France’s presidential elections: perspective and respect for democracy.
With a proper sense of perspective, it is clear that none of these events – Brexit, Mr Trump, the election of Rodrigo Duterte in The Philippines and the rise of populists in many countries – have been disasters. Disturbing to many, clearly, but not cataclysmic by any means.
Given that it led to the invasion of Iraq, one could say that the election of George W Bush was a disaster. If, as has been recently alleged, evidence has been found that proves president Richard Nixon interfered with the peace negotiations that could have ended the Vietnam War under Lyndon Johnson, that was not just a disaster but a crime.
And three events of a century ago – the Russian Revolution, the end of US isolationism with its entry into the First World War and the issuance of the Balfour Declaration – were far more world-shaking than anything that happened last year. They truly had consequences of an order that could lead to them being described as disastrous, should one view them negatively.
But today, questions are being asked as to whether democracy itself is in trouble. Could we be entering an era of "democratic deconsolidation", as an essay in the January issue of the Journal of Democracy suggests? The trend "across most liberal democracies is a very serious warning sign", write the authors, Roberto Foa and Yascha Mounk.
But there has been nothing undemocratic about the elections of last year. No one seriously challenges the validity of the results in Britain, America, the Philippines, or indeed Austria, where a far-right candidate came close to winning the presidency.
As I wrote in these pages after the election of Mr Duterte: “We hear dire warnings of democracy being ‘in danger’. It is nothing of the sort. The liberal pro-market dominance of so many democracies may indeed be in danger; but that is another thing entirely.”
Too often the terms “democracy” and “liberal democracy” are used indistinguishably, as they are in the essay mentioned above. Mr Trump’s election, say the authors, gives “renewed urgency to questions about the stability of supposedly consolidated liberal democracies”. Is it a “warning sign that democracy may begin to founder”?
Of course not. In the United States, as in many other countries, it is a globalised liberal economic and cultural system that has foundered. Democracy itself – the process of expressing the will of the people, with an inexorable and inevitable leaning towards majoritarianism which no constitution or legislative hurdle can block for ever – is in perfectly fine fettle.
The bitter rage that has emanated from liberal elites has been an education in what many proponents of liberal democracy really think about democracy. It has been hard not to conclude that liberal “tolerance” only extends to what liberals deem acceptable and that the people’s vote is only to be respected if it produces a result that falls within certain bounds.
Of course, that should not come as a surprise. Britain and America have a long history of intervening to topple leaders they didn’t like, from Chile’s Salvador Allende to Iran’s Mohammad Mosaddegh. They were overthrown in coups backed by the US in both cases, and by Britain in the second. The fact that these leaders were democratically elected was evidently no obstacle to their removal – even in an era when the West was trumpeting democracy and freedom in contrast to the repression under communist rule.
The difference this time is that democracy has not just produced the “wrong” result in the Philippines, India, Russia, Turkey, Hungary and Poland, but also on the West’s ultimate home turf – the US and Britain. Hence the outrage, the necessity of providing “safe places” for quivering snowflakes and the cries of “I don’t recognise my country any more”.
To those, I would say: perhaps you never really knew it, nor did a silent majority of your countrymen, in the first place.
Last year shone a light on those who had been ignored. Far from being a catastrophe, 2016 could be celebrated as a year of democracy – a year the people finally had their say.
Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
AIR
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
