Now that Mubarak has decided to buy a Winnebago and cruise the streets of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptians can look forward to a democratic future. And if they wish to look deeper into the crystal ball and see where they’re heading, they needn’t look any further than Turkey and Pakistan.
Both of these heavily-populated pillars of the Muslim world have made bumpy transitions to a democratic system. However, these democracies survive not on any constitutionally-based principle, but on the mercy of the paternalistic, over-bearing military.
The Egyptian masses may eventually ‘wield the power’ to determine which crooked politician is the lesser of two evils, but Gold help them if they attempt to voice their frustrations on economic inequalities or a more just foreign policy. This is the dominion of the powerful elites and normal people are not allowed to meddle therein.
In the same manner that I give my son the freedom to choose his meal from a restaurant’s menu, stepping in when I feel that he’s getting out of control and too dessert-happy, the military has generously afforded the citizenry of these three Muslim nations the freedoms to choose from a political menu of controlled choices, ready to pounce in when the masses get too free with their freedoms.
After all folks, self-determination for the uncivilized has its limitations.
Egyptians can look forward to periods of civilian rule interrupted by military intervention whenever America the military elite feel the nation is headed in a direction antithetical to their private interests.
And that, my friends, is the future of Egypt: controlled democracy.
Undoubtedly it’s better than oppressive autocratic rule.
But why must our ceiling remain so low?
Just don’t call it genocide
1 week ago
6 comments:
Wouldn't you say in Turkey the military has been slowly marginalized ? Even now the PM of Turkey takes positions (criticizing/stopping relations with Israel) that a Turkish PM would not do 10 years ago.
I would actually rate Turkey, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia as very good/stable democracies.
And the USA is one example where the military is supreme and the population gets to choose between two bad options that are the same.
I think it was Churchill who said democracy's not the best way to elect a leader, except it's better than every system we ever tried! :-)
@ mezba: "I would actually rate Turkey, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia as very good/stable democracies."
Turkey, maybe. Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, no, no, no. Bangladesh is the worst of the three IMO. The corruption among the two main parties, BNP and Awami, would lead me to say, "A pox on both your houses." Malaysia and Indonesia are both in better shape than Bangladesh, but both countries have serious drawbacks. Both governments are weaker than I would like them to be. Malaysia, in particular, has been developing a serious problem with respect to racial politics, and this has been leading to a brain drain where a lot of the non-Malays are either talking about or actually moving out of the country, Australia being the preferred destination. Both countries could succeed as stable democracies, but both need to strengthen their institutions first.
Lets face it, the elite got their arses wooped in this revolution in Egypt. Yes, their top dollar profits decreased, and they are now realizing that the status quo will not work.
Having a turkish democracy is FAARRR better than Mubarak. Insha'allah I hope that they do receive some freedom! Enough of course to practice their Islam freely.
AA-
@Mezba, True, the Turkish military has allowed the civil government a greater role, but let's not kid ourselves here - they are ever-ready for the moment to step in and impose their will, in a manner that the US military hasn't/won't.
My point about injecting Turkey/Pakistan (and as you pointed out, Bangladesh) into the Egyptian conversation was the overarching role of the military. Both those nations have seen the military step in and take control. The same can't be said for Malaysia or Indonesia or the US.
@JD, "Both countries could succeed as stable democracies, but both need to strengthen their institutions first."
And that is the key for ALL democratic states. The existence of strong democratic institutions is paramount for any success. And the lack of these institutions is the reason why 'democratic' nations such as Turkey and Pakistan and Bangladesh have failed so far.
@Ata, yes the elite got their butts handed to them, if by elite you mean Mubarak and Co. However, the *real* elite of Egypt are the military and they never lost control of the situation. And based on the historical experiences of Turkey/Pakistan, the Egyptian military will never lose that control.
BTW Mezba, the original Churchill quote, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." is a bit stronger in its wording.
I think it equally applies, in the mind of so many people, to capitalism as well.
In the end, I believe mankind deserves better than simply getting by with the least of the worst options. But I guess its a step in the right direction to acknowledge that democracy and capitalism are wretched systems that are simply being implemented due to lack of workable alternatives.
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