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Thread: Popular rebellion, state response and our failure to date: a debate

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    Council Member TheCurmudgeon's Avatar
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    Default Back to the topic ...

    Moving back to the original question:
    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    What struck me in the Libyan story is the incapacity of the modern state to deal with popular uprising(s). It is clear now that we just do not know, want or can deal with non-state actors, even if it's a population and not an armed group.

    Basically we have not evolved, what ever we say, since the 'Cold War'. Tactics and technical factors have evolved, but states are still limited by their obligations to deal with a state, whether it is legitimate or not.
    I think that the modern nation-state can and does deal with non-state actors, like corporations and NGOs, as long as they have an organizational structure. The question becomes more, how do you deal with a mob? I am not sure that an outside element can until that amorphous blob coagulates into some organizational entity. I think you can send in envoys but you must be realistic about what you believe they can achieve.

    I suppose you could send in a demagogue, someone trained at swaying a mobs opinions ... maybe George Clooney.
    Last edited by TheCurmudgeon; 05-17-2011 at 10:11 AM.
    "I can change almost anything ... but I can't change human nature."

    Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan
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