The World Movement for Democracy is an initiative that truly meets the challenges of the new Millennium. Along with the end of the Cold War and unprecedented growth in global trade and communications, the last decade of the old Millennium saw the ever wider acceptance of democracy and human rights as universal values. There is every reason to believe that the new Millennium will see these welcome, interlocking trends continue. The growth in global communications makes it harder than ever for authoritarian, unaccountable regimes to co-exist with modern economies. Regimes which govern by fear and repression cannot expect their people to display the creativity and innovation in the workplace that are essential for a modern, knowledge-based economy.
Authoritarian rule brings with it corruption and arbitrary government.
What trade and investment need is competition, transparency and the rule of law. All are more easily built on an open society and accountable government. So it is not surprising that democracy has made major gains in the past decade. In Europe the countries of the former Warsaw Pact have chosen democracy. There are no military juntas left in Latin America.