ABSTRACT
The arc of geopolitics is always moving, but sometimes it acquires a commanding position. When geopolitics dominate a region or the global scene, state systems, whether democratic or authoritarian, come under severe stress, and peace is threatened. Democracy as a set of values retains strong appeal worldwide, despite occasional setbacks and stagnation. Democracy created a new nation state of equal citizens in India. The Indian system of parliamentary democracy soon became a model for Asian and African countries newly emerged from colonial rule. In some circumstances, living together in peace within a country is in itself a challenge. A large number of scholars and observers of democracy and its future are getting increasingly concerned about the decline of liberal democracy in North America and Western Europe. Poverty and inequality are major threats to peace and social harmony across the globe. Poverty in particular curbs human development.
