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Originally Posted by bluesnowmonkey
Chauncey, since you seem so well-read on the subject, how many instances from history could you cite in which a democracy was established through an occupation like we're doing in Iraq? Would Japan after WWII be one?
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I'm not sure if your question is meant to be sarcastic or what, but here goes...
I believe that Germany is an excellent example, don't you? Remember, Germany was ruled by a madman who wanted to dominate the world landscape, right? Was Saddam any different? Did Germany not have a TRUE democracy after we went in there and established a prescence AFTER kicking out the flotsam that was in power? Yes and no, as Germany was ruled for years by a parliamentary system of government until that system was abolished in 1933 with the rise of, you guessed it, the Nazi party.
Before this, in 919 A.D., Germany crowns her first king, and the country is called the Kingdom of Germany, obviously. This country is a loose confederation of states, all of which are more or less independent. This country has no real democratic principles in place as the crown is the absolute authority. This rules the political landscape until 1871, when under the guidance of Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck Germany becomes a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary institutions. This is all good until the Emperor, William II, greatly expands military powers within the fragile government and that leads to Germany's democratic breakdown. Part of this is attributed to World War I's aftermath and the disastrous Treaty of Versailles, both of which severly crippled the democratic process.
Well, the good folks in power decided to give democracy another chance and in 1919, after the German Empires' defeat in WWI, democracy is founded yet again. This time Philip Scheideman of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands party (Socialist Democratic Party), proclaims Germany a republic. Friedrich Ebert is the first elected president. All is well until the hyperinflation of 1923 and the resentment towards the Versailles Treaty works to doom the government.
Well, here we are yet again with no democracy in place. Throughout the 1920's Germany is ruled by a succession of failed chancellors, the last of them being Kurt von Schleicher. He's expelled because he doesn't have the support of the German president Paul von Hindenburg (I don't think he was really called a president, since his political party was most likely the Nazi party, which believed in totalitarian control). Democracy, obviously, fails due to the overwhelming Nazi influence in government.
Anyways, the Nazi party seizes total control in Germany in 1933 thanks to it being the only political party on the "ballots" at the time. The people of Germany had no choice but to choose a Nazi leader because any other political party was expelled from government. Not only that, but the ballot boxes were stuffed with Hitler votes. The oppositions' vote meant nothing to the Nazi party which destroyed any vote that didn't have Hitlers' name on it. Hitler immediately dissolves any democratic facets of government and assumes total control of the German "government". WWII breaks out, Hitler commits suicide, blah blah blah.
In 1945 Germany unconditionally surrenders to the Allied forces. The United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and later, France all move in to occupy Germany in divided zones. The four governments present agree on a democratic framework with a de-centralized power structure. This all occurred under the U.S.'s guidance and with the support of the other three nations' help. In 1949, after the success of the Berlin Airlift (designed to force Russia's acceptance of the Allied's role of occupation of Berlin), Germany was declared a free republic. Hmmm...no real democracy until AFTER the United States' occupation, weird huh? Well, in '55 Germany co-founds the European Union and joins NATO, but communist undertones continue to taint the government until communisms' demise in 1990. Gradually Germany was granted full sovereignty along with all the freedoms and rights accorded by democracy and today remains a democratic parliamentary with elected leaders and representatives. The parliament is divided into the Bundesrat (Federal Council) and the Bundestag (Federal Diet). The two figureheads are the Federal President and the Federal Chancellor.
About Japan, one could assume that it became a free democratic society after the U.S. and the Allies won WWII, and that statement would be right. Japan, under influence from the Allies' Supreme Commander General Douglas MacArthur, instituted a stable and concrete parliamentary democratic monarchy AFTER WWII. While some would say that Japan enjoys democratic freedoms, and to some extent this is true, a closer examination reveals that Japan's political system operates much the same as the U.K.
Japan has an emperor, a prime minister, and an elected parliament. The two figureheads (emperor and prime minister) wield great power, but must concur with the parliament about many decisions, the least of which is to go to war. Japanese parliament has many parties present, including the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party, the Communist Party (yep, it's
still around), the Renewal Party, and others that give credence to that country embracing political diversity, as nearly all democratic societies do. Ours, however, is possibly the lone exception, with the two major parties being the only really recognized parties in the political spectrum.
Did any of this exist before the United States' occupation of Japan? Yes, in limited ways. Japanese legend says that Japan was founded in the year 600 B.C. From 600 B.C. to 1868 A.D. Japan was ruled by shoguns and warlords, therefore leaving no room for political dissent from opposing parties. In 1868 the feudal system in place is abolished, and the emperor assumes power. From 1885 (I couldn't find any info on the years between 1868 and 1885) until 1932, constitutional and democratic politics are instituted, albeit with much strife among the parties, namely the Constitutional parties. However, due to the political and economic pressures of the 1920s and '30s, the system fails. Therefore, 95% of Japan's history has been governed by militaristic, communist and totalitarian regimes.
In 1932, the prime minister Saiko Maksoto institutes total military control of the government. This system rules until Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies in 1945. In 1947, Japan formed a formal constitution under the guidance of American and Western influences. From then until the present day, Japan has put into place democratic, if quasi-parliamentary, political precendents and practices. Parliamentary representatives are still elected, true, but I believe the emperor is still a birthright. The Kokkai, or parliament, is now chiefly comprised of the Shugi-in (House of Representatives) and the Sangi-in (House of Councillors), neither of which had a real foothold until AFTER the U.S.'s occupation and Japan's adoption of Western political practices. Seeing a trend here?
Anyways, didn't mean to get so long-winded, I just wanted to
really cite some concrete examples of the U.S.'s role in introducing democracy into countries which previously were ruled by totalitarian regimes.
Great question, though, and I hoped I answered it to your satisfaction.
Kerry gets elected?????
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