An odd couple of subjects to pair up, you might think, but I think there is a powerful hidden link, and it’s got nothing to do with the crazy conspiracy theories which right wing nuts have cooked up over climate change science. Instead I’m talking about the steady decline over the last few decades of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘democracy’
24 Apr
Paedophile Priests and Climate Change Politics
Posted by MJ in Climate Change & Carbon Markets. Tagged: climate change deniers, democracy, respect for authority, Richard Nixon. 3 Comments
6 Jan
In case you missed them – the CdI edition
Posted by MJ in Africa, Links. Tagged: African borders, authoritarianism, Cote d'Ivoire, democracy, ICC. 1 Comment
A few more things that caught my eye during my post-festive season catch-up on happenings in the blogosphere. Jina Moore gets out the dictionary on the current turmoil in Côte d’Ivoire – a must read. Charles Onyango-Obbo wonders whether we might be heading towards the inevitable in Côte d’Ivoire, and whether, in that respect, that [...]
22 Aug
What is democracy good for?
Posted by MJ in Governance. Tagged: authoritarianism, corruption, democracy. 1 Comment
(A coda to my earlier post on Democracy, Authoritarianism and Development. Naïveté warning for political scientists: you may wish to skip this post.) At the most immediate level it occurred to me that democracy confers the following advantages (I won’t go into the disadvantages here): A free contest of political ideas and approaches to government. [...]
11 Aug
Democracy, Authoritarianism and Development
Posted by MJ in Africa, Governance. Tagged: authoritarianism, corruption, democracy, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda. 3 Comments
So the surprise winner of the Rwandan presidential election is … Paul Kagame! Who would have thought it? The Economist epitomises the dominant view in the Western media as Paul Kagame has gone from aid darling to the flawed leader we’re stuck with. Texas in Africa has a much more nuanced discussion. I note striking [...]
