The End of History! .... uh, No.
I love maps - here's a pair showing the retreat of Freedom, defined here as liberal democracy (not to be confused with Democratic liberalism). Very interesting, but perhaps a bit overheated in its commentary. For one thing look at South America. Argentina, Brazil and Chile, three of the largest Latin countries, are now "Free," as is Mexico for some years now.
For another, anyone who thought Russia was going to be a western style liberal democracy probably thought gun control and universal health care was just around the corner for the USA. The two largest Muslim countries are also 'free.'
A mixed bag, but look carefully at India and South Africa. And Mongolia, wedged tightly between the Russian and Chinese behemoths. And there is the odd fact that nearly all of the Anglosphere is free. Blame it on Magna Carta and the Glorious Revolution.
well, depending on how one feels about Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.
now if we could just get the Mongols to speak English.
thanks to Andrew Sullivan for finding this. He reads the blogs so I don't have to.
Labels: Anglosphere, freedom, politics
posted by Clemens @ 10:56 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I guess I should read the original article. I won't, but it's a strange, strange metric whereby Russia is "not free" now while North Korea was partly free at any time, let alone in 2001. Maybe it's a typo, but the idea that Russia now is less free than North Korea then, or for that matter than Pakistan now, strikes me as not quite correct.
That's me: a miss-the-forest-for-the-trees kinda guy.
(Or, for that matter, that Iraq is less free than Pakistan.)
I certainly think of you that way sometimes (missing the forest etc) but this time you've picked out some interesting details. From looking at the map it may be that they simply couldn't get N. Korea separated from S. Korea at this scale. I hope so. If there were anywhere on earth that's is "unfree" it would have to be N. Korea.
Russia, otoh, should be more nuanced that 'free' or 'unfree.' Given its culture and history, it may be as 'free' as it can be. Putin could be that odd figure who turns out to be the authoritarian who saves his nation for democracy... eventually. Sort of like Cardenas in Mexico or Kemal in Turkey.
From looking at the map it may be that they simply couldn't get N. Korea separated from S. Korea at this scale. I hope so.
Well, they managed to paint Kaliningrad Oblast pink in 2001 and red in 2009, and that's a lot smaller than North Korea. I'm voting typo.
I visited the Freedom House website, and it seems it's a typo: see this page, where the 2002 map shows North Korea as partly free, but the commentary refers to it as not free.
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