Liberty, Security, and War
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James Joyner | Thursday, April 29, 2004 |
Andrew Sullivan makes an obvious point that’s nonetheless widely missed:
The security of a police state is not true security. The centrifugal forces that Saddam was slowly failing to control were bound to have a period when they spun out of control.
Certainly true. Just a look at the post-Cold War era illustrates this: Various microwars in the former Soviet Union and the Balkanization of the former Yugoslavia with its attendant civil wars and ethnic cleansing are the most obvious examples. And, as others have noted, the transition from apartheid South Africa to a truly democratic system has been rocky. In all cases, it’s arguable that the price of democracy was too high given the short term costs. Hell, that was true in 1776 and 1860.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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