democracy

Small Wars Journal Book Review: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation by Gene Sharp

Dave Maxwell — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 01:45:30 +0000

Small Wars Journal Book Review: From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation by Gene Sharp Dave Maxwell Sun, 12/13/2020 - 8:45pm

This is one of the books every new Special Operations soldier should read when they start their journey into the world of Unconventional Warfare. Gene Sharp could have titled this book the “Doctrine of (Nonviolent) Unconventional Warfare” to Free the Oppressed, or Create Order from Chaos, or even to Persuade, Change, or Influence (the three mottos of the US Army’s Special Operations Branches).

Iraqi Provincial Elections: Iraq’s Political Pulse

Peter J. Munson — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Iraqi Provincial Elections: Iraq’s Political Pulse Peter J. Munson Thu, 05/02/2013 - 3:30am

A Q&A with Kirk Sowell of Inside Iraqi Politics.

Read more about Iraqi Provincial Elections: Iraq’s Political Pulse

Exemplar, Not Crusader

Peter J. Munson — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Exemplar, Not Crusader

Many of you have already seen this, but for those who haven't, I discussed warfare, foreign policy, and America's way ahead in a changing world with Time's Mark Thompson the other day.

No matter what portion of the ideological spectrum Americans come at world problems from, their views are shaped in a way by the idea of the “end of history.” We think that political development has a single endpoint, that being liberal democracy.

I'm not arguing that there's a better endpoint. Instead, I’m arguing that America cannot get the world to that endpoint in the near term. America needs to be more humble in its foreign policies, more realistic than its current expectation of instant modernization without any instability, and more cognizant of the significant challenges it faces in getting its own house in order.

In a phrase, I argue that America should focus more on being an exemplar than a crusader.

First, the world is undergoing a massive wave of change, bringing rapid development and modernization to more people than ever before. I show that this change is intensely destabilizing. It took the West centuries to progress from the corrupt rule of warlords to liberal democracy.

There is no reason to believe that America can remake the world—or even a corner of it—in its image in the course of a few years. We are going to face a period of intensifying instability in the developing world and we need to understand that some things just cannot be neatly managed, much less controlled. We can’t bring on the end of history by using war to spread democracy and the welfare state (used in the academic, not pejorative sense).

Second, and perhaps more importantly because it affects us domestically and internationally, the welfare state is facing a crisis in the world’s leading democracies. This defies the notion that history is teleological—marching toward a determined end point. It would be no surprise, however, to the ancients who saw all governments as fallible and saw history as more of a cyclical thing.

You can read the rest here.

Peter J. Munson Thu, 01/24/2013 - 8:30am

Sharing the Wealth: Burma’s Post-Military Rule and Natural Resource Governance

Peter J. Munson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Sharing the Wealth: Burma’s Post-Military Rule and Natural Resource Governance Peter J. Munson Fri, 10/26/2012 - 5:30am

The linkages between democracy, natural resources, and peacemaking as Burma seeks a way to wind down a half-century long complex of ethnic, political, and religious strife.