WORLD ROUNDUPPoland Shows That Autocracy Is Not Inevitable | The Roots and Consequences of Hamas' Strategy | Is South America a New Persian Gulf?, and more
· Poland Shows That Autocracy Is Not Inevitable
The ruling party tried to use the Polish state to hold on to power, but voters rejected the effort
· The Real Dividing Line in Israel-Palestine
A line divides the fundamentalists on both sides and all those who still believe in the possibility of peaceful co-existence
· The Roots and Consequences of Hamas’ Strategy
Hamas’ brutal attack didn’t come from a vacuum; it was the result of a decades-long “axis of resistance” strategy
· Is South America a New Persian Gulf?
The United States needs South America’s rare earth elements like it once needed the Arab Gulf states’ oil
· Robert Fico Isn’t the Next Viktor Orban
Slovakia’s resurrected leader needed allies to form a government—and he isn’t as pro-Russian as many observers fear
· India Isn’t Signing Up for China’s New World Order
The United States isn’t the only competitor getting in the way of China’s global ambitions
· China Invested $1 Trillion to Gain Global Influence. Can That Go On?
Xi Jinping enhanced China’s sway in the world by lending money for infrastructure. Now he’s collecting debts and rethinking his signature aid initiative
Poland Shows That Autocracy Is Not Inevitable (Anne Appelbaum, The Atlantic)
Thirty-four years ago, in June 1989, Poland woke up to a surprise. Despite a voting process rigged to favor the Communist Party, despite decades of propaganda supporting Communists and smearing anti-Communists, despite the regime’s control of the army, the police, and the secret police, the democratic opposition won, taking all of the seats that it was allowed to contest. A team of former dissidents took control of the government two months later—the first non-Communist government in Soviet-occupied Europe. In the decade that followed, Poland slowly decentralized the state and built a democracy.
This morning, Poland woke up to a similar surprise. Since first winning power democratically in 2015, the nationalist-conservative party Law and Justice, or PiS, has turned state television into a propaganda tube, used state companies to fund its political campaigns, and politicized state administration. In the run-up to this election, it altered electoral laws and even leaked top-secret military documents, manipulating their contents for electoral gain. Even so, the party appears to have won only just over a third of the vote. Three opposition parties will likely have a parliamentary majority. Barring unexpected surprises, and perhaps some attempts to block their victory, they will form a center-right/center-left coalition. Once again, Poles will have to slowly decentralize the state and rebuild their democracy.
This election doesn’t mark the same kind of world-historical turning point. But like the one in 1989, it could represent an important shift. After democratic coalitions failed to defeat nationalist-conservative ruling parties in Hungary last year and in Turkey last May, and after elections in Israel brought a coalition of extremists to power, plenty of people feared that democratic change in Poland, too, was impossible. Against the odds, yesterday’s election has proved them wrong. Even if you don’t live in Poland, don’t care about Poland, and can’t find Poland on a map, take note: The victory of the Polish opposition proves that autocratic populism can be defeated, even after an unfair election. Nothing is inevitable about the rise of autocracy or the decline of democracy. Invest your time in political and civic organization if you want to create change, because sometimes it works.
