tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post4141004050136692877..comments2023-11-18T08:09:26.056+13:00Comments on Abandoned Footnotes: Electoral ParodiesXavier Marquezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10099356104979121153noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post-72849682506482447582015-03-06T14:46:05.476+13:002015-03-06T14:46:05.476+13:00Isn't the point of being a dictator that you c...Isn't the point of being a dictator that you can dictate what the population will do, whether they like it or not?<br /><br />My friends and I used to discuss how a "benevolent dictator" could be an optimal form of government. No political delays or special interest decisions, just getting the job done. Nice to think it could work, but there's that "absolute power" issue.Jen Chapmanhttp://www.panwesternresearch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post-86646797348609021052015-03-05T08:38:43.544+13:002015-03-05T08:38:43.544+13:00Anonymous, I suppose this is possible in principle...Anonymous, I suppose this is possible in principle. Duvalier did declare himself president for life in 1964 (and staged a farcical plebiscite to ratify this in which the only option was "yes"). Yet it does not seem to have been the main point of this election in Haiti, or to have been effective if it was. In the whole history of Haiti no election had ever been "free and fair" yet Haitians seem to be pretty attached to the institution. The ability to show that one can violate a widely-endorsed norm at will, though, (e.g., by staging a farcical election) is a good signal of strength.Xavier Marquezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10099356104979121153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post-47683011633301976802015-03-05T04:40:54.699+13:002015-03-05T04:40:54.699+13:00I don't know much about the historical circums...I don't know much about the historical circumstances in Haiti or the other cases you mention; but is there any chance that the idea, rather than legitimating the dictator, is to delegitimate the concept of elections? That is, to make the populace and/or international observers cynical about opposition demands for elections and voting protections, because they've seen such things used with in such brazenly undemocratic ways?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post-2790707453316041782015-02-11T15:40:53.955+13:002015-02-11T15:40:53.955+13:00True, Lorenzo! Duvalier also did things that were ...True, Lorenzo! Duvalier also did things that were more obviously devices for signaling loyalty, like declaring a month of "gratitude" to himself in 1963, in which he supplied the speeches that different members of the government had to declaim. People who did not want to humiliate themselves typically ran for asylum at one of the embassies. Xavier Marquezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10099356104979121153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35658622.post-41081412908638447462015-02-11T15:33:52.224+13:002015-02-11T15:33:52.224+13:00Plus buying into this amazing display was an excel...Plus buying into this amazing display was an excellent device for signalling loyalty.Lorenzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00305933404442191098noreply@blogger.com