The Importing Democracy Blog
Great Political Leaders: The Short List – Part 1
Why a “short list?” Because conquerors such as Alexander the Great are excluded. I use the term to identify political leaders who significantly improved the lives of their people. As with any such list, decisions to include or exclude are, inevitably, somewhat arbitrary. Some were elected, some were not; none of them had unblemished records, but they accomplished more than most despots or even elected politicians. So here goes, until the year 1700, and I hope you will add to the list in your comments. (or subtract if you know something absolutely dreadful about a leader.) Stay Tuned for Part 2.
Are We Missing An Important Link In Our Pursuit For World Peace?
Troubled or otherwise failed governments continue to yield international headlines for the violence that fills the resulting power struggle in some nations. Meanwhile, political, military and academic leaders struggle to find ways to implement democracy amid the chaos. “What many laypeople may intuit but fail to fully grasp is that democracy is the best-known path to peace – both in specific regions and the world in general,” says Julie Fisher, a former program officer at the Kettering Foundation and former scholar in residence at Yale University. “George Bush was right about democracy, but wrong about how to achieve it.”
Is There a Global Democratic Recession? A Contrarian View
When I hear generalizations about the entire planet, I sometimes think of Hamlet’s admonition to Horatio- “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. That said, this particular morsel of conventional wisdom is not devoid of statistical evidence, since it is based on data about political rights and civil liberties compiled by Freedom House over nine years. Jay Ulfelder, however, uses Freedom House’s own data to argue that democracy has not been discarded.
Inside Cuba? Pope Francis, Civil Society and Democratization
Diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana are, understandably, the big news of the day, the week and the foreseeable future. What happens inside Cuba, however, may be equally important. What will be the internal impact on democratization of closer Cuban ties with the United States and even closer ties with the Vatican? The announcement that 53 Cuban political prisoners will be released as part of the international agreement could help strengthen law-based civil liberties, essential to democratization.
Is the Party Over? And What Happened to Loyal Opposition Anyway?
Political parties seem to be either dysfunctional or on the decline almost everywhere. In developing countries dominated by strongmen, so-called opposition parties do not always oppose and are often little more than personal vehicles for their own leaders. Even in 32 of 36 developed countries party membership has declined since 1990. Political parties used to be described as “loyal opposition,” combining support for a democratic political system with opposition to a particular regime. Once described as “the most advanced and institutionalized form of political conflict,” loyal opposition seems to have declined almost everywhere, along with parties. Even where political parties
Hong Kong or ISIS?
The contrast between what is happening in Hong Kong and in the Middle East couldn’t be greater. In Hong Kong idealistic young people fill the streets because they know that a better society and greater prosperity depend on democratization. They are asking, not just for elections, but for elections that are not limited and censored by the regime in Beijing. In the Middle East young men are in such despair that they have joined a vicious, violent movement that gained publicity-most recently– by beheading an idealistic British cab driver who went to Syria because he wanted to help.
The Complete Democratization Triangle
Democratization is a long, hard slog. What can accelerate the process? Consider, for a moment, the possibility of a “democratization triangle,” with the three corners being popular protests, civil society and a loyal opposition.
As Rare as a Day in June
James Russell Lowell, enjoying a sunny June day sometime in the 1840s, must have just experienced days of New England rain when he wrote “Oh, what is so rare as a day in June?” I remembered his poem when I heard of the death of the great Nelson Mandela. My answer to Lowell’s question, on this sad day, is – “a great political leader.” Mandela’s ideas and character, forged in the fiery crucible of apartheid, were refined on Robben Island, where he learned that treating a bitter, angry jailor as a human being might produce a blanket for the night.