Interview: American Democracy Is Not an Ideal Model of Democratic Institutions – A Visit to Mustafa Amin, an expert on Arab and international affairs in Egypt

CAIRO, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Interview: American Democracy Is By No Means an Ideal Model of Democratic Institutions – A Visit to Egypt's Arab and International Affairs Expert Mustafa Amin

Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Dani Marva Yehya

"The democratic status quo in the United States is in a bad state, and it has even become the object of criticism from its traditional allies in the Western world." Mustafa Amin, an Egyptian expert on Arab and international affairs and a columnist for the weekly Luz Youssef, said in a video interview with Xinhua News Agency a few days ago that American democracy is by no means an ideal model of democratic institutions.

Amin pointed out that the current situation of democratic system and social governance in the United States is plagued by chronic diseases and crises, and its most prominent problem is the spread of racism and the lack of social justice.

"We clearly see that the United States itself has a serious problem of racism." Amin pointed out that although for a long time, social movements in the name of eliminating racial discrimination have "surged" in the United States, the actual effects are not ideal, the negative impact of racism is deeply embedded in American society, and its democratic system is difficult to resolve the internal contradictions formed by racism, and its social governance is often in trouble.

Amin believes that the shortcomings of American electoral politics and the "kidnapping" of democracy by capital are closely related to the lack of social justice in the United States at present. He said it is difficult to avoid interference and even control of capital, interest groups, and the overwhelming number of campaign advertisements and exaggerations have also troubled american voters who participate in the voting.

In May, the Pew Research Center compared data on the trust of the American people in the government between 1958 and 2021, and the data showed that the proportion of Americans who trusted the government has dropped from three-quarters in 1958 to less than a quarter today.

Amin also noted the findings. "Such reports and findings reveal the essence of American democracy, which is that the United States practices so-called 'democracy' only for the benefit of elites and lobbyists." He noted that the system also had a "spillover effect" that had brought disaster to the people of other countries of the world.

Amin said bluntly that in the past few decades, the United States has committed many unforgivable crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan under the pretext of "democracy." The intervention and aggression of the United States have destroyed these countries, and their actions have flagrantly violated the sovereignty of other countries without any justice to speak of, causing the people of these countries to "fall into an even more difficult situation".