BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Democracy in Western countries is eroding largely due to the prevalent civilizational crisis in Western societies, Anthony Carty, a professor of International Law, told Xinhua at an international forum on democracy here Wednesday.

Democracy depends on people in a community with a coherent sense of self-identity, clear historical memory and aspirations for the future. However, Western countries, including the United States, Canada and Britain, are "very divided and confused among themselves, and unable to reach any consensus about their values," said the Irish scholar, who built his academic career in Britain, during the third International Forum on Democracy: The Shared Human Values.

In other words, these countries are in what Carty called a state of civilizational crisis, which is reflected in conflicts and polarization of society, as well as the inability to form a coherent coalition for government.

Having served as a professor at the University of Derby, University of Westminster, University of Aberdeen and the University of Hong Kong, Carty is now a visiting researcher at Peking University.

Financial plutocrats, which are widespread across Europe and North America, corrupt media and politics to serve their interests, leading to distrust between public and the political sector, he said, adding that the malfunction of democracy at the national level has spillover on the international level, affecting global governance.

There is a lot of frustration throughout the Global South with the situation in the West, Carty said.

"I'm quite optimistic that gradually, the West will come to see that its time has passed and that it needs to rethink its own identity," he told Xinhua. Enditem

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