Barack Obama and Democracy in Central Asia

[nodular]

I'm always keeping an eye on Central Asia and I found the following article to be interesting. Apparently, Obama's election is even resonating--- at least to an extent--- in this far-off corner of the world, so abused by the US for so long. This is indeed a message of hope.



I'm always keeping an eye on Central Asia and I found the following article to be interesting. Apparently, Obama's election is even resonating--- at least to an extent--- in this far-off corner of the world, so abused by the US for so long. This is indeed a message of hope.



"Barack Obama and Democracy in Central Asia," The Roberts Report on Central Asia and Kazahkstan, Wednesday, November 05, 2008

http://roberts-report.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

"The most important impact that the election of Barak Obama will have on Central Asia, however, may have nothing to do with American foreign policy. It may relate instead to a change in the way that Central Asians view the United States and the concept of democracy and human liberties more generally.

"The last eight years have dragged the American concept of democracy and liberty through the mud around the world. This was particularly true in the former Soviet Union where skepticism about political ideologies is perhaps more pronounced than virtually anywhere else on the globe. Having been overfed political ideology for decades, most citizens of former Soviet states view democracy (like communism) as merely a smokescreen for inevitable configurations of power within society. Along these lines, elections, parliaments, and advocacy are often viewed as “opiates of the people,” creating an illusion of participation that supports existing power relations that will likely never change.

"While such attitudes are merely an extreme version of what many people the world over, including in the US, often think about politics and politicians, the election of Barack Obama to president of the United States tends to bring such cynicism into doubt. This is certainly the case in the United States where many formerly bitter cynics have suddenly found renewed belief in our system. For months, Obama’s campaign has been fueled by citizen initiative. Hundreds of thousands of small donations sent via the internet by Americans of modest means helped the Obama campaign compile more money than any presidential campaign in history. Thousands of volunteers also bolstered the campaign, manning phones and knocking on doors throughout the country. Finally, on election day, the usually jaded American electorate turned out to vote in unprecedented numbers that have not been seen for about a century.

"The optimist in me makes me want to think that Obama’s mantra of Hope may rub off on Central Asia. Afterall, Obama’s win flies in the face of most Central Asians’ assumptions about our country and about democracy more generally. First, Central Asians tend to assume that America is run by a group of greedy oligarchs who are all white men and presumably racists. Under this assumption, surely, America could not elect an African-American…wrong. Furthermore, many Central Asians assume that elections in the U.S., while likely more competitive than in their states, are predetermined affairs manipulated by the powerful and wealthy. While Obama’s election did not necessarily shatter this belief, it certainly suggests that citizens in America still matter and still have a voice...one that can often be decisive."

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