A revealing study released by the Brookings Institution yesterday. It was a survey of what happens to democracy when superpowers instal a new head of state. The study went back through the Cold War years and examined "regime change" American-style and the Soviet-variety.
The remarkable finding was that, democratic American or totalitarian Soviet, the result was pretty much the same - a significant loss in democratic freedom for the people after regime change. The numbers were close enough you could almost say they were a match between the US and the USSR.
The paper, entitled "Superpower Interventions and Their Consequences for Democracy," explained why the installation of a new leader to bring democracy to a people actually does just the opposite. To be overly simplistic, it's because the installing superpower doesn't pick the new leader to bring democracy but to put down a group or groups of unwanted types in that country. To fulfil his mandate, the new leader has to crack down and that often entails ignoring laws that interfere with doing just that.
To make it seem as though democracy is the real agenda, the superpower often ensures that safe elections are held. Good for public consumption at home. Sound familiar?
For the first five years, on average, there is a marked decline in political and human rights in the wake of regime change. After that, it seems to depend on how much success the new boy has had in wiping out the bad guys.
And that kiddies explains why Afghanistan and Iraq remain such horrible failures and why their innocent civilians will continue to suffer so.
http://www.brookings.edu/
The remarkable finding was that, democratic American or totalitarian Soviet, the result was pretty much the same - a significant loss in democratic freedom for the people after regime change. The numbers were close enough you could almost say they were a match between the US and the USSR.
The paper, entitled "Superpower Interventions and Their Consequences for Democracy," explained why the installation of a new leader to bring democracy to a people actually does just the opposite. To be overly simplistic, it's because the installing superpower doesn't pick the new leader to bring democracy but to put down a group or groups of unwanted types in that country. To fulfil his mandate, the new leader has to crack down and that often entails ignoring laws that interfere with doing just that.
To make it seem as though democracy is the real agenda, the superpower often ensures that safe elections are held. Good for public consumption at home. Sound familiar?
For the first five years, on average, there is a marked decline in political and human rights in the wake of regime change. After that, it seems to depend on how much success the new boy has had in wiping out the bad guys.
And that kiddies explains why Afghanistan and Iraq remain such horrible failures and why their innocent civilians will continue to suffer so.
http://www.brookings.edu/
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