Freedom at Issue

Now Comes the Hard Part in Mozambique

Considering Mozambique’s background, which includes centuries of colonialism followed by a civil war, the country’s transformation into a democracy has been quite successful. Since the end of the conflict, the country has delighted its (tiny) audience: the World Bank has praised it as figuring among the region’s top business reformers, real GDP has grown by an impressive annual average of 8% since the end of armed conflict in 1992, inflation has stabilized at around 10% per year, and enthusiastic donors have poured billions of dollars in foreign aid into the country. However, this economic progress has only slowly translated into improvements in governance and civil liberties. While Mozambique is peaceful and stable by African standards, its democracy remains immature and its institutions weak.

Guatemala Seeks Answers in a Larger Army

With no end in sight to the lawlessness plaguing Guatemala, the government has unveiled a plan to increase the army from 15,500 to 25,000 soldiers by 2010 in order to combat criminality. Given that the military is blamed for most of the killings during Guatemala’s civil war, which lasted from 1960-1996, this is a somewhat controversial proposition. However, many Guatemalans are so upset by rampant crime that they accept the need for the army’s growth and its internal deployment.

Schemes and Dreams Confront Libya's Sobering Realities

The Financial Times recently carried an extensive article on Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi’s plans to radically alter the structure of Libya’s government. The longtime dictator’s plan would eliminate the majority of Libya’s ministries and substitute direct payment of oil wealth to Libya’s citizens in lieu of channeling it through the country’s bloated and wasteful bureaucracies. This is hardly the first time that the enigmatic leader has announced grand transformative plans, but given Libya’s recent re-entry into the “community of nations,” it is worth taking a look at the country’s major governance issues and what Qadhafi’s plan might change.

Crackdown in Progress in Vietnam

Rapid economic growth in countries like Vietnam and China has fed the debate regarding the tradeoff between democracy and development. Although not free, citizens of these nations have benefited from significant wealth increases and poverty reduction. Yet not only has the expansion of freedom been slow, but the gains are often quite fragile. Indeed, facing setbacks to economic growth, undemocratic governments may quickly reverse advances in liberty. This appears to be the case in Vietnam. Like neighboring China, Vietnam has experienced impressive economic growth after pursuing market-oriented reforms. Yet Vietnam also shares with China a profound reluctance to permit political reforms. And now, in the face of recent financial reversals, Vietnam’s government has once again moved to stifle outcroppings of freedom and democracy in the country.

Zimbabwe and Kenya - Power-Sharing, or Reckonings Postponed?

Following their well-publicized post-electoral meltdowns, Zimbabwe and Kenya are working through tricky governance issues involving power-sharing among multiple, mutually suspicious political parties. These situations are important to monitor as sub-Saharan Africa has all too rarely seen harmonious transitions even when the handover of power is straightforward, let alone when it involves powerful personalities and deep grievances. Ideally, these nations will succeed in peacefully distributing authority among the stakeholders, but the fragility of the processes is severe.

Crossroads Dispatch – Notes from the Field: Peru

In the spirit of last week’s post on Colombia, what follows are observations by Crossroads staff regarding governance in Peru. While not in a state of internal conflict like its neighbor Colombia, Peru also exhibits serious shortcomings in a number of the spheres of governance analyzed in Countries at the Crossroads. As in Colombia, the nation is headed by a charismatic, media-comfortable, US-and-market friendly president; unlike Alvaro Uribe, however, Peru’s Alan Garcia has had little success in translating rapid economic growth into high approval ratings.