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Canons or Cannons? On Mobilizing Global Democracy
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democracy—and of the possible, non-coercive spreading of this practice worldwide. In one of
his recent books, Barber has taken a stand against military "cannons" or the spreading of
democracy through "American armed might," pleading instead for multilateral learning and the
fostering of a global context where people can explore democracy democratically. Opposing the
motto of "preventive democracy" to the ominous formula of "preventive warfare" (favored by
some world leaders), his book eloquently extols the avenue of a democratic contagion where
people everywhere would learn about democracy in their own way like Meno's slave boy learned
about geometry. "Democracy," he writes,
grows from inside out and from bottom up rather than from outside in and top down. This is one of the reasons why democratization takes so long. It also suggests that the objective for those seeking a democratic world ought not to be "democracy" in the singular, on the America model or any other, but "democracies" in the plural…. Surely the plurality of Western democracy itself argues for an appreciation of variety in considering democratization in transitional societies beyond Europe and North America. As Amartya Sen has insisted, it is critically important to recognize "diversity within different cultures" as well as diversity among cultures. In nations and cultures emerging from nondemocratic regimes, it may be more productive in establishing liberty to draw on indigenous traditions and institutions than to mimic exogenous constitutions and imported political devices.
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democracy—and of the possible, non-coercive spreading of this practice worldwide. In one of
his recent books, Barber has taken a stand against military "cannons" or the spreading of
democracy through "American armed might," pleading instead for multilateral learning and the
fostering of a global context where people can explore democracy democratically. Opposing the
motto of "preventive democracy" to the ominous formula of "preventive warfare" (favored by
some world leaders), his book eloquently extols the avenue of a democratic contagion where
people everywhere would learn about democracy in their own way like Meno's slave boy learned
about geometry. "Democracy," he writes,
grows from inside out and from bottom up rather than from outside in and top
down. This is one of the reasons why democratization takes so long. It also
suggests that the objective for those seeking a democratic world ought not to be
"democracy" in the singular, on the America model or any other, but
"democracies" in the plural…. Surely the plurality of Western democracy itself
argues for an appreciation of variety in considering democratization in transitional
societies beyond Europe and North America. As Amartya Sen has insisted, it is
critically important to recognize "diversity within different cultures" as well as
diversity among cultures. In nations and cultures emerging from nondemocratic
regimes, it may be more productive in establishing liberty to draw on indigenous
traditions and institutions than to mimic exogenous constitutions and imported
political devices.
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