Analysis Of Was Democracy Just A Moment? By Robert D. Kaplan
1891 Words8 Pages
Robert D. Kaplan’s main argument within his piece “Was Democracy Just a Moment?” identifies his modern day view on the democratic principles a country should have to be deemed democratic. Kaplan believes that a country should already have a strong middle class, civil institutions, high rates of literacy and education, urbanization, low birth rates, a culture of political tolerance, strong and reliable bureaucratic institutions and a period of Western enlightenment. Kaplan does not see any form of democracy breeding without these successful “capstones to social and economic achievements” (Kaplan 1). If these foundations are not in place Kaplan believes the likelihood of democracy being the ideal political structure in any given country are slim.…show more content… The Southern Sudanese during this time “voted more than 98.9% in favor of self-determination. Voter turnout averaged 83% throughout the country, far beyond the 60% needed for the results to be legally valid. After more than 20 years of civil war, a peaceful separation was not to be taken for granted” (Nedelcheva 1). The main reasons for the separation followed many years of never ending conflict, various ethnic tensions and an ongoing issue of the wide “Socio-economic and cultural differences between the North and South” (D’agoot 1). The British agreed initially that separating Sudan would be the best way to tackle the deep seeded ethnic and cultural divisions within the country and would also indirectly foster separate opportunities for development. After the decolonization process in 1956, the “South was arbitrarily annexed from the rest of Sudan, provoking a wave of unrest” (D’agoot 1). This resulted into two civil wars that lasted from 1983 to 2005 which were mainly consequences of “artificial division of Arabs and Africans, cultures, defined blood lines, inequalities such as economic, political and development, weakening of the economy, lack of national unity as well as the past imposition of by colonial rule” (Johnson 17). Later in history after the Peace agreement was signed between the North and South, the performance of elections in 2010 a crucial indicator of progress. These elections faced some issues but still remained competitive and were not terminated by the SPLM. While democracy is continually something that South Sudan wishes for there is still an absence of the obvious signs of a healthy democracy that Kaplan has outlined in his paper such as a strong middle class, civil institutions, high rates of literacy and education, urbanization, law birth rates, a culture of political tolerance, strong and reliable