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Democracy Quotes

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Democracy Quotes

“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.”

People World Should Nations Interest Differences Half Democracy West Jew East Despite Cracks Soviet Eastern Liberating World Domination Rift World Power

Author:Chaim Weizmann

“We see the tendency in the world to criticise democracy and sometimes even to say that authoritarian countries like China are more efficient. That is very short-sighted. China looks efficient only because it can sacrifice most people's rights. This is not something the west should be happy about.”

People World Should Looks Country Sometimes Democracy Rights Sacrifice West China Tendencies Efficient Criticise Short Sighted Authoritarian Government

Author:Ai Weiwei

“Whether its Veep or Homeland or The West Wing - which is a more idealised version of democracy - people are fascinated by politics.”

People Democracy Wings West Versions Fascinated Homeland

Author:Kevin Spacey

“The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy. If you want to go towards democracy, the first thing is to involve the people in decision making, not to make it.”

People Ifs Want Firsts Problem Political Decision Democracy West Reform Decision Making Political Reform

Author:Bashar al-Assad

“I have talked to more people who are in politics who have said to me, "[House of Cards] is closer than you can imagine. It's the most accurate description of how politics actually works that we've ever seen." I mean, West Wing - beautiful, wonderful idea of how democracy should work. But I've had more people in politics say they think House of Cards is closer. I - don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a sad state of affairs.”

People Thinking Knows Should Mean Said Ideas States Beautiful House Politics Community Democracy Imagine Wonderful Policy Wings West Affair Cards Description Compliment Accurate House Of Cards

Author:Kevin Spacey

“The Soviet Union attempted to export communism to the entire world. We know what came of that. Now the West is trying to export democracy, including to regions where there is no traditional foundation for it. That cannot end well.”

Knows World Trying Wells Ends Democracy Foundation Unions West Including Traditional Communism Regions Soviet Soviet Union

Author:Vladimir Yakunin

“There is always an element of realpolitik that has to be present in the conduct of any nation's national security affairs. At the same time, we have to also have a balance between realpolitik and Wilsonian principles of freedom and democracy and human rights. And maintaining that balance is the greatest challenge that we in the West, including the Federal Republic of Germany, have to face because it's many times a very difficult decision-making process.”

“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.”

“The great ideas of the West - rationalism, self-criticism, the disinterested search for truth, the separation of church and state, the rule of law, equality before the law, freedom of conscience, thought, and expression, human rights, and liberal democracy- quite an achievement, surely, for any civilization- - remain the best, and perhaps the only, means for all people, no matter of what race or creed, to reach their full potential and live in freedom.”

Source: Virgins? What Virgins?: And Other Essays

“Well, we are Americans. I've always believed that you work with where you are - I am a Mormon woman who was raised on the edge of the Great Salt Lake in the American West in the United States of America. But, by the same token, much of my life has been spent resisting traditional forms of democracy, resisting traditional forms of orthodoxy, be it the United States government or the Mormon Church.”

“The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy.”

Problem Political Democracy West Reform Political Reform

Author:Bashar al-Assad

“We had in the West a very romantic vision of Russia back in 1991, when the Soviet Union died and whatever is Russia began to emerge. And we began to think of it as a democracy. We're going to bring it into the West. All is going to be wonderful. That was never in the cards.”

Thinking Vision Democracy Wonderful Died Unions West Russia Cards Soviet Soviet Union Very Romantic

Author:Marvin Kalb

“Are we Pakistanis, children of a lesser God? Is there one law for the west and one for us? Is our democracy supposed to be only democracy if you give us a no objection certificate?”

Ifs Giving Children Law Democracy West Supposed To Be Objections Certificates God Is There

Author:Imran Khan

“Democracy is a hegemonic tool of the West and contrary to Islam. Why do you act as though the entire world needs democracy? And when it comes to homosexuality, the issue is clearly dealt with by the Koran. It says it is forbidden and should be punished.”

World Needs Should Democracy Issues Tools West Islam Contrary Homosexuality Forbidden

Author:Abdul Sattar Abu Risha

“The perception of the West as mostly a "knight of democracy" has been replaced with the disappointed belief that pragmatism, often cynical and selfish, lies at the core of Western policies. For many Russians it was a grave disillusion, a crushing of ideals.”

Has Beens Lying Belief Democracy Policy Perception Ideals West Western Selfish Core Graves Crush Disappointed Cynical Replaced Knights Democracies Have Pragmatism Disillusion

Author:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“The world has paid a heavy price for the lack of democracy in most of the Middle East. Operation Ajax [CIA code for the August 1953 coup] taught tyrants and aspiring tyrants there that the world's most powerful governments were willing to tolerate limitless oppression as long as oppressive regimes were friendly to the West and to Western oil companies. That helped tilt the political balance in a vast region away from freedom and toward dictatorship.”

“Democracy in China is maybe like a democracy that is separated, distributed. But in the West, maybe it's something you go to the supermarket to buy.”

Democracy West China Supermarkets

Author:Wu Shanzhuan

“If we had had time and the occasion to develop a new socialism in the GDR, socialism with a human face, with democracy, this might have been an example also to West Germany. The development would have run the other way.”

Ifs Way Humans Has Beens Might Running Faces Democracy Example Development West Socialism Occasions Germany Might Have Been Human Faces West Germany

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.”

People Should Years Has Beens Night Democracy Revolution West Introducing Take Time Dictator Eastern French Revolution

Author:Tariq Ramadan

“If you had said to anyone in 1945, at the end of the Second World War with the continent it ruins, that you could have a European Union of 28 member states stretching from Portugal in the West to Estonia in the East, all of them more-or-less liberal democracies - they wouldn't have believed you.”

Ifs World Said War Ends States Democracy Members Unions West East Ruins War Of The Worlds Continents Stretching European Union Second World War Portugal Liberal Democracy Estonia

Author:Timothy Garton Ash

“I think that rather than talking about particular models, of which there could be a huge number, we should talk about basic principles of democracy. After all, even within the West, there is no single standard and single model.”

Thinking Should Numbers Talking Principles Democracy Particular Huge Models Standards West Basic Principles Huge Numbers

Author:Vladimir Putin