If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Unfolding this month at the Boston Review is "China's Other Revolution" -- an essay by MIT political scientist Edward S. Steinfeld and a series of responses, all on the subject of whether and when real democratic reform will happen, in authoritarian, oligarchic China.
Everything that registers on China's international -- and, for that matter, domestic -- radar does so because it, directly or indirectly, impacts stability.
China's leaders can either begin political reforms on their own terms and try to guide the country into a more open system of government, or they can keep the lid on and risk an outbreak of protests.
From France to India, hunger and food production have long played a major role in revolutions and social upheaval. Food security, then and today, remains a trigger of conflict.
A self-taught lawyer in China who was recently released after years in prison has now been put in home detention -- isolated and beaten by authorities.
I met Tang Jitian and was impressed with his understanding of his role in pushing the Chinese government to truly commit to a rule of law.
Snorre Valen, the Norwegian Member of Parliament who nominated WikiLeaks, was probably on to something.
Watching Egypt from afar, we may not be able to help much, but at the very least we can pray that the extraordinary sacrifices of the most ordinary amongst us is not wasted.
You won't find it on Time Warner or Cablevision, but Al Jazeera's English language television service is laying claim to the viewing loyalty of news-hungry, media-obsessed Westerners.
Despite the massive protests and glorification of the democracy activists by the western media, a core aspect of sea-change is missing: leadership.
In light of Tunisia and Egypt, and the theory that it's "1989 in the Middle East," we must again be reminded that, as unhappy families are each unhappy in their own way, autocratic Arab regimes are each corrupt in their own way, and likely to respond to pressure in their own way, and hence likely to experience radically distinctive destinies. Democratization comes in many forms, slow and fast, civic and political, gradual and revolutionary, successful and unsuccessful. And of course, sometimes it does not come at all.
The Obama administration, and the rest of the world, must get used to the idea that there is a new Egypt and a new Middle East. The old order that was so comforting to Washington is over.
The majority of the 80 million people of Egypt live in abject poverty. They go to kiosks to make calls. A substantial number have never used the internet. They are not twittering -- they are out on the streets giving vent to three decades of anger.
The country was already known for its relatively secular rule, rejection of militant Islam and reforms of women's rights. Can these rights be preserved following the Jasmine Revolution?
While it is still too early to call the protests in Egypt a revolution, Cairo has been under siege for 48 hours. The three-decade long rule of a despot -- and the country's role as an American ally -- is being challenged.
A litmus test of democracy is civilian control of the military enshrined in the constitution and exercised through representative institutions, a test which to date no Arab state has passed. So how close is Tunisia now?
