New York Times (January 6)
Turkey’s President “had already built a disturbing record as an authoritarian leader willing to trample on human rights, the rule of law and political and press freedoms,” but this week he hit a new low when citing Hitler’s Germany as precedent for expanding his powers. “Erdogan has fallen far from the days when he could be regarded as a respected leader of a Muslim-majority democracy and a trusted partner in the region.”
Tags: Authoritarian, Democracy, Disturbing, Germany, Hitler, Human rights, Muslim, Press freedom, Rule, Turkey
Chicago Tribune (December 3)
“The drama never ends for Argentina, land of failed expectations and the setting for a great Broadway musical. Next week, a new leading man steps into the role of president with a chance to fix the broken economy and set a positive example for South American democracy.”
Tags: Argentina, Broadway, Broken, Democracy, Drama, Economy, Expectations, Musical, President, South America
New York Times (October 15)
“India is a vigorous democracy that has sent an orbiter to Mars. Yet its children are more likely to starve than children in far poorer nations in Africa. In a remarkable failure of democracy, India is the epicenter of global malnutrition: 39 percent of Indian children are stunted from poor nutrition.”
The Economist (June 13)
In Turkey, voters sent a “signal to Erdogan.” They showed “they prefer liberal democracy to Islamist autocracy. But they have made it harder to form a government,” which is creating some uncertainty. President Erdogan’s future is also uncertain. Though “his march towards one-man rule has been checked, it is premature to write him off.”
Tags: Democracy, Erdogan, Government, Islamist autocracy, Turkey, Uncertainty, Voters
Washington Post (March 22)
Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew “was the democratic world’s favorite dictator.” Despite his virtues, he was “demonstrably unwise about democracy in Asia. While he was touting supposedly unique Asian values incompatible with liberal Western norms, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia became robust democracies and prospered economically.”
Tags: Asia, Democracy, Dictator, Indonesia, Lee Kuan Yew, Prospered, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Values, Virtues, Western
New York Times (November 12)
Only 36.3% of U.S. voters even bothered to vote in last week’s election. “The abysmally low turnout in last week’s midterm elections — the lowest in more than seven decades — was bad for Democrats, but it was even worse for democracy. In 43 states, less than half the eligible population bothered to vote, and no state broke 60 percent.”
New York Times (November 12)
Only 36.3% of U.S. voters even bothered to vote in last week’s election. “The abysmally low turnout in last week’s midterm elections — the lowest in more than seven decades — was bad for Democrats, but it was even worse for democracy. In 43 states, less than half the eligible population bothered to vote, and no state broke 60 percent.”
The Economist (September 27)
With the Scottish issue solved, the UK now turns to the sticky English question which gives Scottish representatives votes on English issues, without any reciprocity. “It is simply not fair to disadvantage English voters in this way. The system must be changed, ideally in a way that enhances democracy, buttresses the union and does not increase bureaucracy. Sadly, these aims clash.”
Tags: Bureaucracy, Democracy, Disadvantage, England, Reciprocity, Scotland, UK, Union, Voters
Financial Times (August 18)
With the momentum of the Solidarity movement, Poland broke free of the Soviet Union on August 24, 1989. “Twenty-five years on, a generation of Poles has grown up with no personal experience of communism. Poland is a sovereign democracy, an increasingly prosperous market economy and a proud member of Nato and the EU— a nation transformed from the dreadful era of one-party rule, dismal living standards and subservience to Moscow. Poland, you could say, has never had it so good.”
Tags: Communism, Democracy, EU, Market economy, Momentum, Moscow, Nato, Poland, Solidarity, Soviet Union
USA Today (July 2)
“Any traveler to the Middle East today can feel the tidal wave sweeping the area. The Arab Awakening is now a distant memory, and the hopes for democracy have been replaced by the black flags of al-Qaeda,” except they are now known as ISIS. The threat is not limited to the Middle East. “If al-Qaeda, from its sanctuary in Afghanistan, could produce 9/11, imagine the threats ISIS can pose from the much larger area in Iraq and Syria.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Arab Awakening, Democracy, Iraq, ISIS, Middle East, Syria, Threat, Traveler
