Oxford Union believes that liberal democracy has failed the Global South

In Thursday nightโ€™s debate, the Oxford Union voted in favour of the motion โ€œThis house believes that Liberal Democracy has failed the Global Southโ€, with 182 members voting for the motion and 144 members voting against. The emergency motion, โ€œThis house would occupy the Rad Camโ€, also passed with a vote of acclamation.

The eveningโ€™s main event began with an opening from a member of the proposition Arwa Hanin Elrayees, a first year PPE student (later referred to as a โ€œkeen fresherโ€), who reminded the audience that the first opposing speaker, Asad Iqbal, had been an avid supporter of Imran Khanโ€™s campaign to be Oxford Chancellor. She began her speech by declaring that โ€œLiberal democracy is rigidly Westernโ€. Finishing her speech to a round of applause and the offering of a cool glass of water, Elrayess was met with a nod of approval from fellow proposition speaker Brendan Oโ€™Hara, SNP MP for Argyll and Bute since 2015. 

Opening for the opposition was Asad Iqbal, Oxford Union press officer, who in his speech, accused Former Pakistani Minister for Planning Development and Reform and the second proposition speaker, Professor Ahsan Iqbal, of โ€œ[launching] the greatest attack on liberal democracy in historyโ€ during his time in government. 

Then for the proposition was Brendan Oโ€™Hara, who used his time on the floor to criticise the Minister for Women and Equalities, Anneliese Dodds, for referring to the happening in Ukraine as a โ€œwar crimeโ€, with Oโ€™Hara saying: โ€œWhy is this country able, indeed eager, to call Putinโ€™s actions war crimes, but not those in Israel, when the perpetrator is Netanyahu, and the victims Palestinians?โ€. Anneliese Dodds was not present at the debate. 

Following Oโ€™Hara was the Luxembourg Ambassador to the UK, Georges Friden, who was in opposition to the motion. Friden interrogated the term โ€˜Global Southโ€™, reminding the audience he was a lawyer, and that โ€œif you do catch me using the term, it will only be for sake of argument.โ€ 

Next was Professor Iqbal for the motion, directing the beginning of his fiery speech for the motion at opening speaker Asad Iqbal: โ€œthe first speaker has argued that freeing Imran Khan was a principle of liberal democracyโ€ฆ But I was wondering if he was speaking for Taliban democracy?โ€. This question was met with a ferocious applause and aggressive nodding from the front bench. Speaking of his assassination attempt in 2018, Iqbal shared: โ€œThe bullet that still exists in my stomach gives me a taste of Imran Khanโ€™s liberal democracy every dayโ€, which was followed by another round of applause.

Next up was Ambassador Kurt Volker, a former US Diplomat who served as US special representative to Ukraine during the Trump Presidency, who argued that liberal democracy had not failed the Global South. He received a gallant round of applause when he mischievously remarked: โ€œI have the honor of meeting your presidentโ€ฆ who was electedโ€, leaving a pregnant pause to let the remark really sink in. When introducing him as a speaker earlier in the debate, Elrayees remarked with a Union-related quip: โ€œI know from Trumpโ€™s administration you were surrounded by vipers, so the Union shouldnโ€™t be any differentโ€, which was surprisingly well received.

Rounding off the debate proposition speaker was Oxfordโ€™s own Professor Stefan Dercon, who spent the majority of his speech discussing the importance of reading the question and reminded the audience that โ€œthe question is not โ€˜is liberal democracy a great thing?โ€™โ€. He then moved on to a long allegory about poisonous frogs which sought to remind the audience that it is difficult to differentiate between a poisonous and non-poisonous frog (a tenuous argument) and closed the case with an unfortunate mishap by asking for us to โ€œvote down the motion โ€“ no โ€“ vote in favour of the motion.โ€ย 

Rather cheekily, the final opposition speaker and a Nepalese jurist, Professor Subedi, began by stating: โ€œSince I am the last speaker, I should have the last word, so I can take the liberty of saying whatever I like.โ€ Professor Subedi also made sure to promote his new book about democracy in his speech: โ€œIndeed, I am currently writing a book, and I am going further back than the Magna Carta.โ€ Noted.

Earlier in the evening, the chamber also voted in favour of the rather poignant emergency motion: โ€œThis house would occupy the Rad Camโ€, following the OA4P occupation of the Radcliffe Camera Library on the 24th January. 

Speaking in favour of the motion, a member of OA4P stood up to tell the crowd, briefly, but passionately: โ€œI am not just doing one thing, I am doing every possible thing.โ€ Members of the audience applauded. Some awkwardly shuffled in their seats.

A speaker of the opposition told the audience about his friendโ€™s frustration after pro-Palestine protesters from an autonomous group occupied the Exam Schools on June 13th: โ€œI knew someone who saw his own friend disrupting his engineering exam later that day. And when he exited the exam hall, his friend [the protester] tried to hug him. […] If we canโ€™t respect each other in Oxford, how can you hope for the Israelis and Palestines to start?โ€ 

Another speaker of the opposition remarked: โ€œThe Palestinian movement needs to be able to reach the average personโ€ฆ Everyone sees this movement as out of touch.โ€ย 

A vote by acclamation supported the motion, despite, to the best of Cherwellโ€™s knowledge, no known Union members actually โ€˜occupiedโ€™ the Rad Cam on the 24th.

Check out our other content

Most Popular Articles