“We are one people despite the ostensible rifts, cracks, and differences between the American and Soviet democracies. We are one people and it is not in our interests that the West should liberate the East, for in doing this and in liberating the enslaved nations, the West would inevitably deprive Jewry of the Eastern half of its world power.” PeopleWorldShouldNationsInterestDifferencesHalfDemocracyWestJewEastDespiteCracksSovietEasternLiberatingWorld DominationRiftWorld Power Author:Chaim Weizmann
“EU didn't advance our [Eastern Europe] democracy by a single millimeter.” DemocracyEuropeEasternEastern Europe Author:Vaclav Klaus
“But how can you speed up the transformation of society in a country as large as Russia? Those sounding the moral outcry are the ones who are trying to dictate their standards from the outside. Of course, that isn't the right way to go either. One cannot impose democracy from the other side of national borders, which is something we ourselves experienced during the communist era. The West's policies toward Eastern Europe, the Helsinki process - none of that really helped us.” WayTryingCountryCoursesProcessSidesMoralDemocracyPolicyStandardsEuropeTransformationWestSpeedRussiaErasBordersCommunistRight WayEasternEastern EuropeNational BordersHelsinki Author:Vaclav Klaus
“I certainly hoped that in the Eastern part of Germany, what was just beginning to be called the German Democratic Republic, you would develop a system of socialism with freedom and democracy.” DemocracyDemocraticSocialismGermanyRepublicEasternDemocratic Republic Author:Stefan Heym
“We should say to the West: "You have been supporting dictators for too many years. Don't expect the people to introduce democracy over night. It is going to take time." It took time with the French revolution, it took time with the Eastern European revolutions. And it is going to take time there.” PeopleShouldYearsHas BeensNightDemocracyRevolutionWestIntroducingTake TimeDictatorEasternFrench Revolution Author:Tariq Ramadan
“As one looks back, one sees that the fall of the Berlin Wall opened the door to three developments - the Eurozone, which was crafted around German unification, the free movement of peoples within Europe, particularly people from the new democracies of Eastern Europe, and, more broadly, it opened the door to globalization.” PeopleLooksFallThreeDemocracyDoorsMovementWallDevelopmentEuropeEasternGlobalizationBerlinEastern EuropeUnificationBerlin WallEurozoneFree Movement Author:Timothy Garton Ash
“It would be a huge mistake to abandon democracy promotion. Peaceful political change has been enormously successful in the past years in Eastern European countries as well as in countries like South Korea, South Africa, Chile and Indonesia. However, if possible, the use of force is something to avoid except in cases where genocide is threatened, like Bosnia or Libya or with regimes that threaten our security, like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.” IfsYearsWellsHas BeensCountryUseWould BePastPoliticalForceMistakeCasesDemocracySuccessfulSecurityHugeSouthPeacefulAbandonGenocideRegimesSouth AfricaThreatenedSaddamEasternHusseinPromotionKoreaIndonesiaTalibanLibyaChileEuropean CountriesBosniaUse Of ForceSouth KoreaPolitical Change Author:Paul Wolfowitz