Revolutions
By Volodymyr Kish
For those of you who have been following the news the past few weeks, it
seems that there is revolution in the air, particularly around the original cradle
of civilization that encompasses the
Both the scope and speed of these revolutions have come as a great surprise
to the rest of the world and needless to say, they have upset the comfortable political
status quo that the Western World has gotten used to for this part of the globe.
Inasmuch as most world leaders may have privately
looked with distaste upon the tyranny and corruption that predominates in the Middle
East, practical economic and geopolitical realities have dictated at least a toleration
if not support for the unsavoury regimes that have ruled here for most of the past
century. The fact of the matter is that our
energy driven economies demand a stable and cheap supply of petroleum to fuel our
unsustainable consumerist societies, so political ethics are inevitably sacrificed
so that we can maintain our questionable lifestyles.
What is particularly interesting about these events is that they have shattered
our biased perceptions that all of Arab politics is determined and ruled by Islamic
Fundamentalism. These uprisings have demonstrated
that Arabs and Muslims have the same yearnings for democracy and human rights as
the rest of us. In all of the events of the
past few months, religious fundamentalism has played an almost zero role in shaping
what transpired.
Obviously we are in for some interesting times and current events are forcing
most Western countries to reassess the assumptions and principles behind their foreign
policies. For the moment, the unrest seems
to be restricted to the Mid-East, however, we would be foolish if we assume that
this just a localized Arab problem. Within
our globally connected world, significant political events have a way of propagating
quickly to all corners of the world.
Any authoritarian regime on this planet has good cause to be concerned. The past several decades have conclusively demonstrated
that no political system is safe or invulnerable. No matter how strong or in control it may appear
to be on the surface, once the tipping point is reached, it can topple in a matter
of weeks or even days. When a disgruntled
population decides enough is enough, it’s game over. Further, with the availability of instant mass
communication capability through the Internet and mobile networks, the authorities
no longer have an organizational or logistical advantage in the areas of media control,
propaganda or security force mobilization. We all know how quickly the
I would hazard a guess that what we are seeing is but the start of a global
movement that will shake up world politics significantly over the next decade, and
it is not hard to speculate where the next flashpoints will be. Most, if not all of the
China is finding it increasingly difficult to keep its restive masses under
control, and with increasing exposure to the global economy and global media and
information networks, they too will reach a “tipping point” likely within the next
decade.
Russia, a corrupt failed state that is being kept afloat strictly on the
strength of its oil and gas revenues, will disintegrate as ethnic tensions escalate,
and its impoverished populace lose patience with the inability of their kleptocratic
leaders to provide the better life they’ve been promised.
Ukrainians, even in the Russified eastern part of the country, are seeing
that Yanukovich’s touted “political stability” and “reforms” have no substance and
are merely a faade that enables his oligarchic buddies to continue to rape and pillage
the country for their benefit. His popularity
has plunged drastically in recent polls and his days are clearly numbered.
Stay tuned folks - we are in for a wild and exciting ride! The world’s exploited millions and billions are
increasingly demonstrating that the status quo is no longer acceptable.