It’s Déjà vu All Over Again: Authoritarian Regimes Are Back

For over a century victories by the democratic powers in World War I, World War II and the Cold War created hope that a global, liberal democratic order would replace the authoritarian empires who had long ruled the world. Yet, these hopes have been dashed with the rise of new authoritarian states. World War I led to the dissolution of the Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Out of their ashes emerged fascists such as Mussolini, Franco and Hitler and new, authoritarian states in Iran, most of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The defeat of fascism in World War II raised new hopes, but only two of the 140 newly independent states, India and Israel, developed long-term secular democratic systems. The end of the Cold War, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites, ended the Communist threat and led to the creation of many more democratic states. However, Freedom House has found that authoritarianism, not democracy, has been increasing for the past nine years. The rising states are Russia, China, Iran and Turkey, which share glorious imperial and authoritarian features. Russia and China move to regain territory from their imperial past. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks longingly of the glories of the Ottoman Empire while the chief adviser to the Grand Ayatollah Khameini recently said that Iran seeks to resurrect the Persian Empire -- with its headquarters in Baghdad!


http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/159786

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Cuchulain wrote:For over a century victories by the democratic powers in World War I, World War II and the Cold War created hope that a global, liberal democratic order would replace the authoritarian empires who had long ruled the world. Yet, these hopes have been dashed with the rise of new authoritarian states. World War I led to the dissolution of the Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Out of their ashes emerged fascists such as Mussolini, Franco and Hitler and new, authoritarian states in Iran, most of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The defeat of fascism in World War II raised new hopes, but only two of the 140 newly independent states, India and Israel, developed long-term secular democratic systems. The end of the Cold War, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites, ended the Communist threat and led to the creation of many more democratic states. However, Freedom House has found that authoritarianism, not democracy, has been increasing for the past nine years. The rising states are Russia, China, Iran and Turkey, which share glorious imperial and authoritarian features. Russia and China move to regain territory from their imperial past.  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks longingly of the glories of the Ottoman Empire while the chief adviser to the Grand Ayatollah Khameini recently said that Iran seeks to resurrect the Persian Empire -- with its headquarters in Baghdad!


http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/159786

Could economic instability and democratic processes 'stalling' economic advancement in the west (chiefly Europe and the USA) be one reason for that? For sure China, Russia and other growing powers may look to the west and think we've gone as far as we can, and perhaps prefer to try a different approach? Just a thought. Even in Thailand a return to democracy is endlessly delayed by the current Military government, but at the same time they are moving things faster than they were for years of (failed) democracy (sometimes for better, others not so much).

Interesting topic btw

also who can look at the USA and not see how easily democracy is subverted and controlled by media

and look to Australia or Canada and see how sovereignty is lost to the US media empire  

If one cannot look honestly and see why people may not want to be us(the west) then you're just blinded by patriotism. we have problems too just different ones and the western system has been designed to allow it to be subverted by powerful economic interests it was literally designed that way in BOTH the USA and the UK.

We are strong but we are not always good. we have media that does it's best to hide our failings while highlighting problems in places they don't control. isn't it funny that All OUR problems are caused by people in the Places where Western media isn't... at least according to our western Media. None of our problems are caused by the people that control things here  

   

veya_victaous wrote:also who can look at the USA and not see how easily democracy is subverted and controlled by media

and look to Australia or Canada and see how sovereignty is lost to the US media empire  

If one cannot look honestly and see why people may not want to be us(the west) then you're just blinded by patriotism. we have problems too just different ones and the western system has been designed to allow it to be subverted by powerful economic interests it was literally designed that way in BOTH the USA and the UK.

We are strong but we are not always good. we have media that does it's best to hide our failings while highlighting problems in places they don't control. isn't it funny that All OUR problems are caused by people in the Places where Western media isn't... at least according to our western Media. None of our problems are caused by the people that control things here  

   

That's very true. There is a lot to be said about giving the media completely unrestrained freedom. They really can and do 'print what they want'. Even mistakes that are conceded are squeezed into the obscures unread pages in tiny side columns no one looks at.

Politicians chasing headlines (and so, theoretically, votes) is so short term and doesn't help develop a nation AT ALL. It just gives people a distraction, something to moan about, and give little thought about an increasingly competitive global future (which UK is falling behind in).

As you imply veya, I don't imagine Putin, Xinping or Erdogan looking at the situation with Murdoch and thinking 'we really ought to have a Sun newspaper or Fox news in Russia/China/Turkey'.

Exactly Les, but even more
If you change the 'control' from 'one of the dictatorial nations' to 'the corporate oligarchy' are our paper any different than the State press in Russia or China?

Do they not protect their 'elite' in the exact same fashion? do they not drag down their enemies, do they not create the 'circus for the plebs' ? they are the same but rather than representing the interests of a 'National dictatorial political party' it represents the interests of a 'oligarchy of corporate tyrants'.

That may be. However when the politicians are not headline chasing over the various and conflicting opinions of millions of voters they can actually make decisions and stick to them with much greater ease and 'get things done'.

This is not me supporting authoritarianism by the way, just highlighting the benefits which some will see as more significant in the face of stagnation or crisis in the western system. A benign dictatorship would be great, but not everyone would view it so and it would inevitably make bad decisions.

Oligarchy and externam control by the few is bad, but at least the government isn't pulled in too many different directions at once. And to secure social order said government still couldn't go too far with dramatic change.

I find it interesting that you say there is a crisis in the western system, I don't think there is Australia Canada New Zealand are stronger than ever.

What there is a Geopolitical change in that the west no longer looks to Europe for direction. We are lead out of the USA, the main sources of growth and wealth are in Non-European western nations.

This is Probably a lot of the reason for the financial/production problems in Europe things that went to London or Paris because those cities were the 'centre of the world' are no longer going to London or Paris, the European 'Western World's Capital cities' are become regional capitals a 'greater western empire'.

Ugh. You guys want to make me set fire to the desk of the boss of the boss of the boss of my boss ...

But you know what we can all do? Any time you're looking at news on a big media outlet's site and you see anything from the Middle East, Latin America or Africa that isn't about violence, click on the story and stay on it for three minutes or so.

veya_victaous wrote:I find it interesting that you say there is a crisis in the western system, I don't think there is Australia Canada New Zealand are stronger than ever.

What there is a Geopolitical change in that the west no longer looks to Europe for direction. We are lead out of the USA, the main sources of growth and wealth are in Non-European western nations.

This is Probably a lot of the reason for the financial/production problems in Europe things that went to London or Paris because those cities were the 'centre of the world'  are no longer going to London or Paris, the European 'Western World's Capital cities' are become regional capitals a 'greater western empire'.

Australia, Canada and New Zealand benefit from being relatively new countries, low in population and having large territories are resources (send your thanks to us on a postcard ).

The media is also not a ravenous in those places (at least not that I've heard) as those in the UK and US.

And I don't think there is a 'terminal' crisis. We aren't doomed to absolute decline. I'm just looking at this from the pov of those countries inclined toward authoritarianism and away from western style liberalism and democracy.

I NOTE that 'Uncle Ruppert's' News services are once again wanting to declare WWIII on the Middle East...

WHILE deliberately ignoring problems just as bad over here in this li'l old corner of the world..

Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines.   All 'going to hell in a handbasket !'

Lone Wolf wrote:

I NOTE that 'Uncle Ruppert's' News services are once again wanting to declare WWIII on the Middle East...

WHILE deliberately ignoring problems just as bad over here in this li'l old corner of the world..

Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines.   All 'going to hell in a handbasket !'

Yes, last night I tuned in to Faux News just to see. I noted something I had missed in the past: Most of their reporting is in the adjectives they use. They report the nouns faithfully enough--new agreement with Iran; Trump slams Mexico; floods in Alabama--but they attach adjectives to the nouns. It isn't 'Obama's speech on crime'; it's 'Obama's clueless speech on crime'. Or, it's not just 'the administration's deal with Iran'; it's 'the administration's appeasement deal with Iran'.

Of course, sometimes this means the difference between whether there is a story or not. Eg, Benghazi has turned out to be all adjectives, and no there, there.

Moreover, you can tell where they are going with a good look at the adjectives. Modifiers like 'ignorant' or 'clueless' mean the story's going to show how inept the administration is; alternatively, modifiers like 'deceitful' and 'disingenuous' foretell a story about intentional misleading or lies.

Try it. Keep a pad and pen and write down the beginning adjectives and adverbs of each story. Then summarize at the end of a half hour. Obama or Cameron, etc., was: lying, ignorant, buoyant, successful, jubilant, disappointed, sad, angry, miffed, confused or indignant...on and on. Try it...at least with Faux News you can tell what sort of mood they are in on any given day and how they feel about the story.

Actually Wolf, Burma is becoming increasingly Democratic, and Thailand, while admittedly still run by a Military government, is by no means 'going to hell'. You completely mistaken when you say things are just as bad in Thailand as in the ME. The PM is viewed as a funny character not ideal for a leader but there is no widespread opposition to the situation here, even with endless delays on elections. Life here is fine, calm and pleasant and utterly incomparable to anything going on in the Middle East. In fact, although a military coup is never to be encouraged, the situation now is more stable than it has been for 10 years.