Democracy appears when some large number of previously excluded, ordinary persons–what the eighteenth century called “the many”–secure the power not simply to select their governors but to oversee the institutions of government, as officeholders and citizens free to assemble and criticize those in office. Democracy is never a gift bestowed by benevolent, farseeing rulers who seek to reinforce their own legitimacy. It must always be fought for, by political coalitions that cut across distinctions of wealth, power, and interest. It succeeds and survives only when it is rooted in the lives and expectations of its citizens, and continually reinvigorated in each generation. Democratic successes are never irreversible.
--Sean Wilenz’s The Rise of American Democracy (h/t Jay Ulfeder)
A site tracking political and military developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a focus on resource exploitation.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Quote of the Day
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