“Most Arabs and Muslims feel that the United States hasn't really been paying much attention to their desires. They think it has been pursuing its policies for its own sake and not according to many of the principles that it claims are its own - democracy, self-determination, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, international law.” ThinkingFeelsHas BeensSelfStatesLawDesireUnitedAttentionPrinciplesUnited StatesDemocracyPolicySpeechDeterminationClaimsSakeInternationalSelf DeterminationFreedom Of SpeechAssemblyInternational LawFreedom Of Assembly Author:Edward Said
“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
“I am afraid that I think both the near future environmental reality and political landscape are not looking good - and they are connected. The best tool we have for advancing environmental solutions is our democracy, and we can't currently access it because it has been so thoroughly hijacked by big corporate interests.” ThinkingHas BeensBigsRealityPoliticalInterestDemocracySolutionsToolsEnvironmentalConnectedAccessLandscapeCorporateLooking GoodAdvancing Author:Annie Leonard
“I'm sort of always trying to reinvent and recreate a better way of being, because, you know, democracy has been "the worst of all political systems except for all the rest." So I think we have a lot of room to grow and be a better society, and it's a constant battle. It's an exciting opportunity to be active.” ThinkingKnowsWayTryingHas BeensPoliticalOpportunityGrowsRoomsDemocracyWorstBattleExcitingConstantActiveAlways TryingBetter WaysPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Adrian Grenier
“I don't like the current political system in the USA and some other countries. Increasingly democracy has been hijacked by corporate interests.” Has BeensCountryPoliticalInterestDemocracyCurrentsCorporateUsaOther CountriesPolitical SystemsDemocracies Have Author:Neil Young
“I care deeply about women's rights. I have been an outspoken advocate for them for many years and as secretary of state I carried that message around the world because empowering women, providing for women's rights, their full participation in society, politics, the economy is not only a matter of individuals being able to chart their own futures. It's good for democracy and it's good for peace and prosperity.” WorldYearsHas BeensMatterStatesCareAbleIndividualEconomyDemocracyRightsMessagesProsperityAround The WorldEmpoweringProvidingWomens RightsSecretaryI CareParticipationEmpowering WomenOutspoken Author:Hillary Clinton
“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
“The much-lauded parliamentary democracy in India has been unable to protect a genuine democratic set-up in Kashmir.” Has BeensDemocracyProtectIndiaDemocraticGenuineParliamentaryKashmirParliamentary Democracy Author:Nyla Ali Khan
“Fascism and communism have not entirely disappeared but have been sidelined certainly, and liberal democracy has come to be accepted, in theory at least, around the world, if not always in practice.” IfsWorldHas BeensPracticeDemocracyTheoryAcceptedAround The WorldCommunismFascismDemocracies HaveLiberal Democracy Author:Samuel P. Huntington
“Two significant developments in the past several decades have been the collapse of communism as an ideology and the general acceptance, in rhetoric, if not practice, of liberal democracy.” IfsHas BeensTwoPastPracticeDemocracyAcceptanceDevelopmentDecadesSignificantIdeologyCommunismCollapseRhetoricLiberal Democracy Author:Samuel P. Huntington
“The first official statements of President Asif Ali Zardari's new government have been firm and robust. Pakistan is obviously a renewed democracy.” FirstsHas BeensGovernmentPresidentDemocracyStatementsFirmOfficialsPakistanRobustNew Government Author:David Petraeus
“In America, we do not have a democracy. It's not what we have. We have a representative republic and therefore the rules and regulations that have been written to maintain it are not truly democratic - not purely democratic - in origin. They are about protecting and defending the establishment of this republic.” Has BeensAmericaDemocracyWrittenDemocraticRepublicEstablishmentRegulationRepresentativesRules And Regulations Author:Rush Limbaugh
“The Arab spring reminds me a bit of the decolonisation process where one country gets independence and everybody else wants it. How about us, when do we get it, when do we make our move? And you have a situation where someone has been in power for decades, where the integrity of elections, democracy and security have really not been debated or discussed and most people suspect that elections are rigged and that the democratic rotation that elections are supposed to ensure doesn't really happen. And when this goes on for a while you are sitting on a powder keg.” PeopleWantHas BeensCountryHappensMovingBitsProcessSituationDemocracySecurityGoes OnIntegritySpringSittingElectionIndependenceDemocraticDecadesSuspectsPowderRiggedRotationArab SpringKegs Author:Kofi Annan
“Take the US. Women were not even able to vote until 90 ago, at about the same time they gained the right in Afghanistan. Rights of former slaves were very limited until the 1960s, and in some ways still are. In these and other domains there has been progress in democracy, though still seriously flawed. In other dimensions - the control of concentrated wealth over the political process, for example, things have gotten much worse in recent years. And there is much more, in both directions.” WayYearsHas BeensStillsAblePoliticalProcessWealthDemocracyRightsProgressExampleVoteSlaveFormerDimensionsAfghanistanDomainFlawed1960s Author:Noam Chomsky
“Because Al-Qaeda has been a non-state centered organisation, many of these scenarios do not exactly apply. These are not wars between states. And yet, it seems to me that we make a mistake if we accept the view that states are fighting terrorism, since we have abundant evidence for accepting the idea of state terrorism, and what is most urgent is to track and expose how state terrorism operates under the rubric of "democracy."” IfsHas BeensIdeasWarStatesSeemsFightingViewsMistakeAcceptingDemocracyEvidenceTrackTerrorismAlsUrgentScenariosOrganisationAl QaedaFighting TerrorismRubrics Author:Judith Butler