By Alliance Member Alain Norman
When leaders fail to respect the law and constitutional norms, any society can enter a downward spiral that ruins the economic well-being and security of nearly everyone within it.
America was very lucky, 250 years ago, to have had good leaders—i.e., Founding Fathers willing to pledge their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to the cause of independence for a nation based on the idea that individuals have inalienable rights, including the rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
To this day, good leaders understand that they should respect laws, procedures, and norms if they wish to preside over successful businesses or nations. Leaders who set bad examples encourage selfishness and misbehavior among others that, in turn, undermines society’s functionality. This is why George Washington—who deliberately left power after two terms as president—is still regarded as a good leader, whereas Caligula—who misused power until even his own guards turned on him—remains in infamy.
To take a more prosaic example, I once had a friend who volunteered teaching kids in Washington, D.C. public schools during the days when Marion Barry–later busted for illicit drugs–presided over a chaotic District. She recounted that she urged a boy not to come to school “high” on drugs. The boy replied, “Why not? Look at the Mayor!” She said she was left speechless, as the boy had a point.
In short, “the fish rots from the head,” as they say.
OK, one might think—there have always been bad bosses. That’s why a wide variety of songs and movies exist skewering short-sighted or selfish leaders. Although such leadership can stimulate humorous satire, there’s nothing funny about the harsh effects that callous and corrupt political and economic elites can have on the body politic of a nation, and its people.
I served in one Latin American nation where, as a resident French diplomat put it, the elite had a “colonial” attitude towards their citizenry. The result: a large percentage of the population lived in poverty, public education was chronically underfunded, the healthcare system was inadequate, and large numbers of people sought to migrate to other nations (often the U.S. or Spain).
In another, very resource-rich African nation, the picture was much worse. Not only did the vast majority of the population live in poverty, but the government’s authority did not extend much beyond the capital. Those who could afford to traveled everywhere in armored vehicles, protecting themselves against unpredictable bouts of violence between rival war-lords.
I served in this chaotic context as part of an international effort to update the host nation’s constitution. This included attempting to insert a constitutional provision to create transparency in how extractive industry contracts (e.g., mining and timber) were awarded. Recognizing that accountability in public contracting—especially in these lucrative sectors—might limit their self-dealing, local “powers that be” maneuvered to ensure that provision was omitted from the final version of the new constitution.
Although a few sentences on a “scrap of paper” might not have been sufficient to improve the population’s distress, the failure of this country’s leaders to achieve minimal consensus on “rules of the road”—and to stick to such principles—has left the country one of the poorest in the world, to this day.
The list of nations that have failed to live up to their potential—or been ruined—by a lack of civic virtue on the part of political, military, or economic leaders, is extensive.
For instance, my father would recall his shock at the terrible conditions he saw in fascist Spain long after the Spanish Civil War, but Spain also offers a more recent example of what can happen when the desire to respect democratic norms and individuals’ rights does take hold. Spain is now much more prosperous, and its people far freer, than it was before 1981 (even if some crime or corruption can never be fully eliminated).
Another positive example is South Korea, which became more prosperous as it grew more democratic, over the course of decades, since the 1980s. Conversely, North Koreans have often starved because of their government’s callous tyranny. South Korea may offer today’s America a further lesson, after successfully impeaching and duly convicting their President for conspiring to stage an insurrection against its constitutional order.
So, how can American society—and America’s political and economic leaders—keep our system of checks and balances functional?
First, let us recall that the question of “who will guard [against] the guardians?” is not new. Every nation—perhaps every generation—must contend with the reality that, as Lord Acton wrote: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Similarly, although perfection is never possible, it is important to bear in mind that:
- The true purpose of law is to protect the weak from the strong (as my father also observed);
- When leaders fail to respect the law and constitutional norms, society can enter a downward spiral that ruins the economic well-being and security of nearly everyone within it; and
- Accountability through the rule of law is, then, not just about abstract “rights”—it is also about your personal welfare and safety.
In today’s America, ordinary (but not powerless) citizens can take several measures to prevent our nation from tipping into a downward spiral of decreasing accountability for our leaders, and dwindling liberties and economic circumstances:
First, any citizen can exercise their First Amendment right to insist, publicly and frequently, that nobody is above the law—especially those tasked with seeing that the law is “faithfully executed,” or who are otherwise in positions of public trust. Citizens can make clear in conversations, public fora, and through the media that there should be no retreat from the principle that the American government—and Americans’ liberty—depend on a functional system of checks and balances.
Second, opportunities abound to support non-governmental organizations that work to strengthen accountability by investigating and publicly reporting on questionable behavior by officials and business leaders at all levels. Groups like AAROL are speaking out in meaningful ways: A key reason why I chose to become an AAROL Alliance Member.
Third, citizens can organize campaigns to demand the suspension, removal, or impeachment of officials and business leaders who have flouted the law or reasonable expectations of probity. This may take perseverance, but as is well known: “persistence pays.”
Fourth, an educated citizenry is critically important in ensuring both economic development and democratic governance. Americans can demand that public libraries and public education systems be properly funded by local, state, and federal governments, and can advocate for enhancing educational public media’ ability to receive individual, philanthropic support.
And last but not least, Americans with legal training should look for ways to become engaged, such as participating in lawsuits, contributing to pro bono legal briefs, or undertaking legislative lobbying. These efforts can help ensure that relevant court cases, laws, and regulations reinforce (rather than diminish) accountability and respect for the “inalienable rights” set forth in our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
In short—for some 30 years, I worked, traveled, or lived in different countries with the aim of helping develop these nations’ legal systems or adherence to international law. If you asked me what I learned from this experience, and my life-long study of human history, it would be this: The quality of governance matters.
Indeed, what I saw firsthand in Latin America and Africa is not some dystopian fantasy. Those experiences, and human history generally, offer Americans two main lessons:
- Bad governance—a.k.a., political and economic “leadership” devoid of concern for the rule of law—leads to misery and insecurity, as well as to curtailed liberties; and
- Citizens must stay engaged to ensure that leaders act with moderation and respect for the rule of law.
I hope we Americans will never have to acquire armored vehicles to move along rutted roads past scenes of deprivation. But this can happen, unless we today—like my Revolutionary War ancestors 250 years ago—commit our “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to protecting our inalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Read Alain Norman’s previous AAROL Blog Piece, “Why the Rule of Law Matters—The View of a U.S. Diplomat (Ret.)” here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alain Norman is an American attorney and former diplomat who has worked to promote the Rule of Law and good governance globally for nearly 30 years. Alain began his career supporting legal reforms in former Soviet countries through the American Bar Association (ABA), before becoming the first ABA Liaison to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Having served over 20 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, Alain brings decades of comparative experience assessing and improving legal and political systems in human rights protection, anti-corruption, and justice administration.
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