Mandela neither demanded nor received an entirely unconditional devotion; in power he expected his compatriots to behave as assertive citizens not genuflecting disciples
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election 2004As a bitterly divisive presidential election race moved towards its climax, openDemocracy writers made sense of the issues and presented the key views behind the news.
The people are right – even when they’re wrong. That’s democracy. Why don’t leftists get it? Read the rest of this post...
The way leftists – and openDemocracy writers – stereotype their political opponents in the American election reveals a thought–denying prejudice, says Roger Scruton. Read the rest of this post...
In the New York subway, Mariano Aguirre sees into the divided, lonely heart of America – but glimpses fertile seeds in the post-election landscape. Read the rest of this post...
November 2004 represents a decisive moment in global as well as American politics that demands an urgent response from concerned citizens everywhere, says Fred Halliday. Read the rest of this post...
A diary of election-year conversations with Democratic voters in the Republican stronghold of Indiana provoke Jason Vest to savage illumination of the consoling myths, false trails and self-deceits of a failed campaign. Read the rest of this post...
The Bush vs Kerry election inquest has been at its liveliest in openDemocracy’s forums. Dominic Hilton presents the highlights. Read the rest of this post...
What does George W Bush's re-election mean for America and the world? openDemocracy writers look ahead. Read the rest of this post...
As the last votes of the United States election are counted, openDemocracy writers worldwide give their personal reactions to the result. Read the rest of this post...
The United States’s post-9/11 foreign policy will have a long-term, positive effect on middle-east politics, Lebanese banker Karim Souaid tells openDemocracy editor Anthony Barnett. Read the rest of this post...
The Iraq war opened a fratricidal split among United States neo–conservatives. Danny Postel examines the bitter dispute between two leading neocons, Francis Fukuyama and Charles Krauthammer, and suggests that Fukuyama’s critique of the Iraq war and decision not to vote for George W Bush is a significant political as well as intellectual moment. Read the rest of this post...
It’s one of the world’s biggest news stories in 2004, but the issues are not the same in China as they are in Iran. Do journalists even care in Nepal? openDemocracy’s world media monitor looks at the national media coverage of the United States presidential election in nine different countries. Read the rest of this post...
Liberal Democrats like John Kerry share the same religion as conservative Republicans like George W Bush: a belief in America’s moral exceptionalism. But the scale of the American and world challenge facing any new president makes their contest far more than a choice of evils, says Godfrey Hodgson. Read the rest of this post...
Should bunker-busting nuclear weapons be part of United States national security strategy? Charles V Peña on a hidden faultline in the presidential race. Read the rest of this post...
Justine Isola reached voting age two weeks before the American presidential election in 2000. At Yale University four years on, she listens to the views of her fellow-students and reflects on the meaning of her participation in the democratic process. Read the rest of this post...
The importance of the United States election on 2 November is so great that all considerations except one – defeating Bush - need to be set aside, John Berger tells openDemocracy editor Anthony Barnett. Read the rest of this post...
The United States experienced real democracy only from 1965-2000, from the civil rights era to the post-Florida judicial coup, says Siva Vaidhyanathan. Whatever the result on 2 November, American citizens need to seize the responsibility of remaking it. Read the rest of this post...
With just over a week to go before the presidential election, the paramedia decibels are soaring and the mobilisation intensifying. Todd Gitlin on the curious convulsions and fabulous flavours of this crucial campaign. Read the rest of this post...
Leading economics and business professors from the Harvard Business School have sent an open letter to President Bush criticising his economic policies. The initiative’s co-organiser, Louis Wells, talks to openDemocracy’s Caspar Henderson about its origin and purpose. Read the rest of this post...
What is it like to work in the Washington political establishment at election time – especially when so much is at stake? John Hulsman has the insider’s story. Read the rest of this post...
For four years, President Bush has been shielded from the public and protected from contrary opinion. The three crucial TV presidential debates have revealed the true man. Advantage John Kerry. Read the rest of this post...
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