"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliot
Definitely a liberal idealist interpretation of the world....
Going back to Kant: make the world composed of liberal democracies, and you've got peace. After all, no two democracies have ever fought each other.
However, that doesn't mean that strife WITHIN countries is lessoned. In fact, with the upsurge of democracies in recent years, we've also had an upsurge of internal conflict and civl war.
And as she points out, that's not a good sign for us. Our problem right now isn't the powerful state, but rather the failing state. Why? As people like Robert Rotberg point out, failed states are the prime breeding ground for terrorists. In the world of terrorism, states are no longer the sole primary actor. We have much less tangible, more fluid actors: terrorists who are non-state.
So to be honest, in the age of terrorism, is the spread of democracy actually a bad thing? I think it might if we can't make sure those democracies are strong aren't going to control terrorists.
But nevertheless, I'd have to agree with Rice, I think. Just playing devil's advocate more than anything....=P
Definitely a liberal idealist interpretation of the world....
ReplyDeleteGoing back to Kant: make the world composed of liberal democracies, and you've got peace. After all, no two democracies have ever fought each other.
However, that doesn't mean that strife WITHIN countries is lessoned. In fact, with the upsurge of democracies in recent years, we've also had an upsurge of internal conflict and civl war.
And as she points out, that's not a good sign for us. Our problem right now isn't the powerful state, but rather the failing state. Why? As people like Robert Rotberg point out, failed states are the prime breeding ground for terrorists. In the world of terrorism, states are no longer the sole primary actor. We have much less tangible, more fluid actors: terrorists who are non-state.
So to be honest, in the age of terrorism, is the spread of democracy actually a bad thing? I think it might if we can't make sure those democracies are strong aren't going to control terrorists.
But nevertheless, I'd have to agree with Rice, I think. Just playing devil's advocate more than anything....=P