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Revolutions may not answer civil unrest
I is cracking down on the government all it's cracked up to be?
Conventional liberal perspectives of international politics hold that violent revolution is the antidote to oppressive government. To those who subscribe to this paradigm, I ask one question. Can you name one violent revolution that lead to a democracy? I'm sure your immediate answer was, of course, the American Revolution. But upon closer examination, the result of the American Revolution was a thinly veiled oligarchy where blacks, women and those without property were not given voting rights. Similar trends are even more noticeable in the wake of the Arab Spring.
The Arab Spring garnered a great deal of attention in the last few years, even leading Time Magazine to bequeath the "Person of the Year" title to "The Protestor" in 2011. Indeed, The Arab Spring has been overwhelmingly venerated. But for what reason? The implicit assumption is that these once-
despotic nations are better off now that they are in the hands of "the people." Unfortunately, this is a cursory judgment.
As many of these ruinous nations climbed out of the smoldering heap left behind by the showers of destruction they were not greeted by the righteous arms of democracy, but by the iron fist of fundamentalist rule.
Not convinced? Let's take the Egyptian revolution for example. While they may be free from the clutches of Mubarak, they are now entranced by the Muslim Brotherhood — much to the misfortune of the Coptic Christians. Far from
democratic, the government is rife with corruption. In fact, the Egypt Court just ruled that the Muslim Brotherhood's ascension to the legislature was illegal, demonstrating that democracy doesn't come second nature to violent revolution
Even Tunisia, arguably the most moderate nation from the Arab Spring cohort is slowly succumbing to the Muslim Brotherhood. The assassination of Muslim Brotherhood Coalition Opposition Leader Chokri Belaid has proven that violence is still the rule of law in these nations, while President Moncef Marzouki's tepid resistance to these terror tactics speaks volumes of the powerlessness of the government.
Why do we see these trends? Step back a few decades in history and we have the Iranian theocratic revolution which deposed the Shah and installed the Ayatollah (who went on to earn the prestigious title of "most evil man in history" by many.)
Why didn't they create a democracy? Surely everyone in the world must want democracy. Thomas
Sowell of the Hoover Institution describes that one of the fundamental facets of democracy is tolerance: the willingness to let other people have freedom, not just want it for yourself. This is what the Middle East lacks.
POLITICS
So, how do we create peace in despotic regimes? The question is, in itself, a fallacy because democracy simply isn't what's best for most despotic nations. You may still think that these nascent governments will eventually evolve into democratic societies in the same manner America did.
But democracy cannot be bestowed nor cultivated if the lifeblood of said society, the people, do not wish it.
So long as their implacable desire for unadulterated monoculturalism persists, Middle Eastern and Northern African democracy will be a quixotic pursuit.
Ashley is a sophomore to Topeka.
Follow him on Twitter @punchine-ween.
Two sides exist between the Turkish protests
Turkey is experiencing the largest protests since the election of Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 10 years ago.
The root cause of these protests was the announcement that a famous park in Istanbul, Gezi Park, would be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. However, this protest has become about so much more. Protesters emerged who are firmly against Prime Minister Erdogan and his party, and the police have been brought in to quell the situation. But is Erdogan the fascist dictator the protesters make him out to be, or a decent leader?
These are questions to ask before the United States gets involved.
If President Barack Obama announced that Central Park would
By Mikaela Wefald
mwefald@kansan.com
The park demolition was simply the spark that ignited Turkish tensions about freedom speech, and a government that they feel is too heavy-handed. Perhaps the Arab Spring has finally reached Turkey, where citizens want more of a say in government and feel as if Erdogan has taken too much power
be destroyed in order to construct a shopping center, it only makes sense that there would be protests in New York.
However, would these protests last for over a week, with protesters braving tear gas for their cause? Probably not.
for himself. Erdogan's response to protests has not shown the world that he is a good leader, as he has dismissed claims of violence against protests (untrue) and maintained that the park will be demolished.
However, is this truly a case where the government needs to be overthrown? Is Prime Minister Erdogan bad for his country, or has he just made a serious misstep?
Unlike many rulers in the Middle East, Erdogan has been consistently (and legitimately) elected by popular opinion. He has gone a long way to ensure the future success of Turkey as a nation, and benefited the majority of the country. These protests also happen to coincide with a slowing Turkish economy, which may be why protests have just recently erupted. While the
violent response to protests cannot be ignored, and the decision to do away with Gezi Park was certainly a mistake, are these reason enough to depose a long standing Prime Minister who was just popularly reelected in 2011?
Whether Prime Minister Erdogan is good or bad for the nation of Turkey, it can be agreed that these protests are an important signal to the world, and can't be ignored. The first step of the Turkish government should be to resolve the issue of Gezi Park, and cease the violent responses.
Wefalf is a sophomore from Manhattan. Follow her on Twitter at @PegasaurousRex.
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