Quote Originally Posted by John T. Fishel View Post
Tom, interesting thread, but I want to return to your seemingly minor point. As a political scientist and an old guy, I assert that for democracy to exist three conditions need to be present:
1. Free, competitive, and periodic elections to select leaders open to a majority of the adult population as voters.
2. Sufficient freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly so that electoral campaigns can be organized and policies widely debated.
3. An impartial mechanism for the settlement of disputes that in most Western states is an independent court system. (Not required is American style judicial review - see the UK.)
If all of these conditions are not present, then you do not have democracy but something else. What that something else is may be "good" or "bad" but it is not democracy. I would argue that this definition is both universal and necessary for the concept of democracy to have any meaning.

Cheers

JohnT
JohnT

As a westerner I would agree. As an Africanist interpreting probable African reactions, maybe so, maybe not, depending on whom you speak to and of what you speak.

M-A

Reference the debate on assistance, here are the relevant pieces from the CNN series:

Why foreign aid is important for Africa

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) -- The idea that those who have should share with those who don't is inherent in most societies -- insects, animals and humans alike.

Sharing is essential to maintain and protect the collective, and empathy is an essential value of what it is to be human. It is inhuman to watch another dying of hunger and not share when you have more than enough to eat.

International aid is the instrument by which this very human practice occurs in modern times across borders, and should ordinarily not be controversial. But it is -- very much so....
Why foreign aid and Africa don't mix

By Robert Calderisi, Special to CNN
Friday, Charles Abugre of the UN Millennium Campaign writes for CNN about why aid is important for Africa and how it can be made more effective.

(CNN) -- I once asked a president of the Central African Republic, Ange-Félix Patassé, to give up a personal monopoly he held on the distribution of refined oil products in his country.

He was unapologetic. "Do you expect me to lose money in the service of my people?" he replied.

That, in a nutshell, has been the problem of Africa. Very few African governments have been on the same wavelength as Western providers of aid....

Now I will say that in offering the 2 sides to the question, the 2 commentators are talking apples versus oranges. the first centers on food and aid in general and disaster assistance specifically. When he does refer to developmental assistance, he uses Asia to make a positive case. The second uses the developmental definition for assistance. He is, however, honest enough to say that some countries have broken the dependency mold he uses as an argument against assistance.

Best
Tom