A 21st-century checklist of the new autocrats
False democrats
-Club members: Russian President Vladimir Putin; Palestinian
president Mahmoud Abbas; Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak; Algerian
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika; Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi;
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
-Ex-members: Slobodan Milosevic; Hosni Mubarak
-Key
characteristics: They hold elections but have no intention of giving up
power. Serious political rivals are jailed and their parties are
outlawed on legal technicalities. Mr. Putin’s spin doctors call it
“managed democracy” – giving voters the appearance of choice while
ensuring they have very little to choose from on election day.
-Reason
for hope: Because they allow the trappings of democracy – opposition
parties, some independent media, the very process of going through an
election every few years – these false democracies create the
possibility of change.
Mr. Milosevic and Mr. Mubarak were ousted because
citizens used the political space allowed them in a false democracy.
Russia’s opposition has similarly been on the advance over the past
seven months. The next election in Malaysia promises to be interesting.
-Reason
for despair: False democracies give the impression of being freer than
they really are, which means they rarely face the kind of international
pressure that the really nasty regimes get.
source:the globe n mail
source:the globe n mail
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