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# Strong men and uncertain outcomes: August 6th - 12th on openDemocracy
- URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/strong-men-and-uncertain-outcomes-august-6th-12th-on-opendemocracy/
- Published: 2012-08-12T15:08:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-23T01:09:50.000Z
- Description: Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s own strong man, it seems, is ill. Information is scarce, but it invites René Lefort to think about what might happen to the State and party that have become so reliant on his leadership. And what happens in Ethiopia matters - not just for its 86 million diverse inhabitants
- Author: openDemocracy Supporters
- Tags: The Week in 1 Minute, #Migrated, #en, #Import 2026-04-09 17:27, #appended-excerpt

The strong men of [dissident](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/ba968fc3eb&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/a464c2d8a4&ref=opendemocracy.net)[Irish](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/e453ba124a&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/e951349034&ref=opendemocracy.net)[Republicanism](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/ec6ab81c8a&ref=opendemocracy.net) are put under the microscope by Paul Nolan. Why, after an exemplary peace process, does violent sectarianism still play such a role in Northern Ireland?**Nolan explains the world from the point of view of all the fighters who can’t give up their struggle.** 

Russia is familiar with strongmen, and recent laws restricting freedom mark **another step backwards in the direction of Soviet style policies**. Still, a [new law on defamation is necessary](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/e29d76a342&ref=opendemocracy.net), argues Poel Karp, only not this one. 

Timothy Garton Ash leads a project on the [Free Speech Debate](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/67f9154c86&ref=opendemocracy.net): openDemocracy’s editor Rosemary Bechler meets him in Oxford,[wondering who and what](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/9deafe5118&ref=opendemocracy.net) is best equipped to help the peoples of the world to be sufficiently *free and able* to rise to the challenges we face. 

Our Editor-in-Chief Magnus Nomemuses on the blood sport of politics, and how Romney’s **choice of the ideologically extreme Paul Ryan as VP candidate** might [influence the race](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/23fc1f7ec9&ref=opendemocracy.net). 

In Syria, where Assad’s position is weakening but his arsenal still formidable, Issa Khalaf worries that [Washington has set in motion processes it can’t control](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/330fcc5ff1&ref=opendemocracy.net). 

A lot of the strong women and men of openDemocracy’s week came through the happier door of our **Olympics coverage**. OurBeeb’s Lydia Graystone asked what we all [thought of the BBC’s coverage](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/b8c479c31f&ref=opendemocracy.net); Heather McRobie examines whether any medals should be awarded for [gender](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/c905041db8&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/c82fa21e10&ref=opendemocracy.net)[balance](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/2629a9d7d7&ref=opendemocracy.net); Patrice de Beer wonders whether[flags](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/b49db01dd6&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/5d9a52da81&ref=opendemocracy.net)[and](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/d0d82be9f9&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/2adae7d162&ref=opendemocracy.net)[anthems](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/3957ba2c8b&ref=opendemocracy.net) ought to be banned; Mark Perryman gives us [the thinking person’s Olympics reading list](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/7c5a93eb69&ref=opendemocracy.net); and the front page editor goes to town on stills from [Leni](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/d9b0201907&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/fcf934d63c&ref=opendemocracy.net)[Riefenstahl](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/2038421c19&ref=opendemocracy.net)[.](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/75cfa3f4b3&ref=opendemocracy.net) 

**Strong men in fiction** \- or is it men in strong fiction - are the subject of James Warner’s overview of the [gay](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/9f0167baab&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/c45cf7a20d&ref=opendemocracy.net)[sci](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/f4161a0942&ref=opendemocracy.net)[\-](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/1e524265b1&ref=opendemocracy.net)[fi](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/051d844d67&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/6d74cc4030&ref=opendemocracy.net)[oeuvre](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/8794405539&ref=opendemocracy.net) of Samuel R Delany, while the weakness of great strength - and vice versa - is the subject of Tony Curzon Price’s [essay](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/ef396a8985&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/18ecb22b34&ref=opendemocracy.net)[on](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/74ea7f8f5e&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/101407e535&ref=opendemocracy.net)[Conrad](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/d851387911&ref=opendemocracy.net)’s *Lord Jim* and *Heart of Darkness*. 

Links not to miss: 

A heartbeat away from the presidency? [The New Yorker profiles Paul Ryan before tap](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/25bdddf4a2/currentPage=all&ref=opendemocracy.net)

[Man 1, Bank 0](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/4505cf39ad&ref=opendemocracy.net) – harmless fun with a fake check turns serious 

The best UK [Economics blog commentary](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/57fc5f2edd&ref=opendemocracy.net) on UK macroeconomics 

And, [social exclusiveness exists within groups of dolphins](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/eef02cfab4&ref=opendemocracy.net) 

**openDemocracy’s week in 400 words is emailed to Members and Friends to help pay for our great content. Please forward this to any contact you think might be interested and want to join; they should see** [**here**](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/2c654253b6/openDemocracy/d4022f1a75/TEST/e64101092e&ref=opendemocracy.net) **or email** [**supporters@opendemocracy.net**](mailto:supporters@opendemocracy.net)**.**

Meles Zenawi, [Ethiopia](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/5ba8735178&ref=opendemocracy.net)[’](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/f63d79d832&ref=opendemocracy.net)[s](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/e68f7122db&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/a22f8e1019&ref=opendemocracy.net)[own](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/f4b1739884&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/c9e0a36c02&ref=opendemocracy.net)[strong](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/4bbc1fcee9&ref=opendemocracy.net)[ ](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/af843e4d7e&ref=opendemocracy.net)[man](http://cts.vresp.com/c/?openDemocracy/9c3695bd58/b5696a98c8/8c73632f83&ref=opendemocracy.net), it seems, is ill. Information is scarce, but it invites René Lefort to think about what might happen to the State and party that have become so reliant on his leadership. And **what happens in Ethiopia matters - not just for its 86 million diverse inhabitants**, but also its fractious neighbours Somalia and South Sudan.