2 november 2009, when is an election not an election ?

Monday 2nd November 2009

I am sometimes accused of refusing to give way to pragmatism over logic; the best as the enemy of the good. I duly find recognition of hamid karzai afghanistan’s duly elected president difficult to swallow. He was only declared winner as he refused to meet the conditions his challenger insisted were needed, with some justification, to make the election legitimate. Karzai stared down the international community’s attempts to install a “national unity” coalition. The sound of chickens coming to roost can be heard all around, truisms including that democracy is not just about a vote, but a free media, transparency, accountability, and above all a just rule of law, applied to all. The key question really is whether such a system, seen in the west as the best, is best for everywhere. Must nation-building be about creating nations in our own image ? OK, it worked for germany and more interestingly japan after the war, but has it worked in Iraq, in Afghanistan or in swathes of Africa ? Apparently not is the answer. Is there more security and prosperity now than under saddam or the taliban ? Freedom does not buy bread. On the other hand, to use just one more cliche, rome wasn't built in a day either and perhaps the optimistic comparisons are better taiwan or korea, both today functioning democracies, but with a distinctly local cultural style.