Why do dictators care whether or not someone criticizes them? Communist China. The USSR. And most predominantly Muslim countries. They already control everything with a strangle hold. Who cares if anyone complains? Also, FWIW, I like many people believe the USA is just a Plutocracy. And they don't seem to care if anyone criticizes them. So what gives?
I think that as awareness of the dictator's crude practices grows it becomes less comfortable to turn a blind eye to the reality of the result. It's staring him/her in the face 24/7 and he/she must do something about it. Were I in a position of power, I would remain diplomatic in my manner, but also acknowledge the problem and propose alternate solutions such as rule by democracy. In many cases this is sacrilege however and a more appropriate response is a sanction by the United States that makes an incentive to observe more humanitarian practices. That's where it gets hairy, because they will accuse you of attempting regime change. But isn't regime change the best thing for so many countries? It really depends on your worldview, and while I try not to be ethnocentric about anything, even dictatorial leadership, I believe that one must draw the line at a certain point. For example the problems they are having in Myanmar. And their leader is a Nobel Laureate! As I understand it, the Army of Myanmar defends to this day their actions against the Rohingya Muslims in that country. I don't have all the facts, and it may be more complicated than it seems at first glance. But there must be an amicable solution that doesn't involve killing in what many news outlets have reported as genocide. EDIT: Myanmar is a newly democratic country that was previously under some sort of military rule according to wikipedia (for lack of a better source and in the interest of a timely edit). That doesn't seem to be what you were talking about. I apologize if it's not a good example of a dictatorship. it may still be a good example of how to adopt a position on issues in foreign government nonetheless.
As Caligula put it;"No matter whether they love me , so long as they fear me." But he pushed the envelope too far, and it didn't turn out so well for him.
Dictators are narcissists, and generally don't take shame well. That said, I don't think anyone's suggesting we shame Saudi Arabia for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering an American resident. Sanctions which hit dictators in the wallet are generally much more effective.
nobody enjoys criticism. even assholes like to be liked. besides, even with absolute power it's still easier to accomplish your goals if people are on your side.
Succesfully oppress the critics is apparently seen as a sign of power, but yeah its obviously a sign of weakness. Btw: Erdogan has sex with goats.
Presumably democracy is better. But what is Western democracy? Mostly two shades of the same shit. Your left or your right, trying to make an unfair system work. Evil dictators are bad mkay, but some countries are possibly best run under dictatorship if that's how their culture developed, and the stage they are at. It is a great feat of hubris of America mostly to always try to muscle in and impose their fucked up notion of democracy, when they couldn't really give a shit and just want to enforce their idea of global hegemony and gain access to resources.
I tend to agree. I don't believe western liberal democracy is at this point suitable for many countries and societies.
Before the Neo-con takeover with the G.W. Bush Administration, there was a general understanding among scholars that certain pre-conditions were necessary for effective liberal democracy. Now that events have exposed the flaws in the Neo-con Bush/Cheney/ Wolffowitz/ Rumsfeld theory that American-style democracy could be successfully transplanted to every corner of the world and would make the Middle East a better place and safe for Israel, that understanding seems to be coming back again. I don't have time now, but I'd like to explore these further in the future. Meanwhile, feel free to discuss. Democracy's pre-conditions 8 most essential conditions necessary for the success of democracy What are necessary conditions for a democracy? - Defining Wisdom | A Project of the University of Chicago - Publications Preconditions of Democracy Preconditions for Democracy – Jack Krupansky – Medium Preconditions of democracy Preconditions To Making Democracy Effective | optimizingdemocracy http://eppam.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/6/2/5562069/lipset1959_apsr.pdf http://www.tampereclub.org/e-publications/vol2_baurmannzintl.pdf http://pscourses.ucsd.edu/ps200b/Lipset Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited.pdf http://rdc1.net/forthcoming/dempre.pdf Prerequisites for Democracy, or Did Belarus Ever Have a Chance? | Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies Question: Are we losing these in western industrial countries?
