The Era Of Oligarchy

Readers on Andrew Sullivan’s site talk about the transition the Eastern European countries faced as their regimes fell in the 80s and 90s, and how that transition is incomplete. They then make the obvious connection with the “Arab Spring,” and the fact that we should not expectations of a quick transition there. “The Slow-Grinding, Boring Mill Of Justice” – The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Beyond the Clash of Civilizations – NYTimes.com. On the one side were the radicals, who would use more and more demonstrative violence to underline the weakness of the powers-that-be in an attempt to mobilize the masses on their side, and who would finally find themselves isolated and ostracized by those same masses, as the failure of Egyptian and Algerian radicals had proven in the 1990s.  On the other side, a growing amount of Islamists were converting to the creed of pluralism and democracy, as was already then the case in Turkey. That change would not take place without turmoil within…

Al Akhbar, a Lebanese Paper, Aims at Provoking Readers – NYTimes.com. They are a remarkable blend: the paper champions gay rights, feminism and other leftist causes, even as it wholeheartedly supports Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite movement. Al Akhbar’s access to Hezbollah allows it to scoop other papers on Lebanon’s biggest continuing story, but it also publishes muckraking exposés on the abuse of domestic workers, prison overcrowding and other delicate subjects. Add splashy full-page color photos and witty tabloid-style headlines, and you have an alluring product.