Democratization as a disease?
If you're looking for an article to help your students consider democratization, this New York Times opinion piece by Noah Feldman might be a good one.Democratosis
"It seems strange to the rest of the world, but we Americans can’t seem to stop talking about how other countries should be democratic like we are. From George Washington’s boast of being 'irresistibly excited whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom,' to Woodrow Wilson’s vow to make the world safe for democracy, to George W. Bush’s second inaugural, our presidents have invoked the aspiration to expand self-government ever outward...
"When we fail to follow [our own preaching], we look hypocritical. An empire that extends itself selectively is just being prudent about its own limitations. A republic that supports democratization selectively is another matter.
"[T]he fear that Islamists would come to power in free elections — as they did in the Palestinian territories — makes the United States’ interest in supporting the status quo [in places like Pakistan] understandable. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, sometimes sounding suspiciously like an apostate from the democratization cause, argued in a recent speech for the necessity of using realist methods — including short-term alliances with despots — to pursue idealist goals such as the establishment of more democracy. And of course he is right to say that the United States cannot suddenly abandon its useful allies when they do not put themselves up for election.
"But Gates’s measured realism has its weaknesses. The problem is that our support for dictators in some countries tends to undermine our ability to encourage democracy elsewhere..."
Labels: democratization, pedagogy
posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:49 AM
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