Cine mai apara ordinea de drept? (RO)

Dupa ce a fost nevoita sa se recunoasca invinsa in incercarea de a desfiinta sectoarele Bucurestiului, puterea portocalie mareste miza cu reorganizarea teritoriala a intregii tari. Planul este inlocuirea actualelor judete cu 8 regiuni ('super-judete') pe baza actualelor regiuni de dezvoltare.

Si cum vrea sa faca o schimbare de asemenea anvergura si cu implicatii majore pentru tara? Pai, cum stie: prin procedura angajarii raspunderii guvernului (de fapt, un eufemism pentru retezarea oricarei dezbateri si punerea la lucru a masinii de vot, o modalitate folosita intensiv de portocalii).

Ar fi o mica problema: in cazul unei reorganizari teritoriale, procedura este ilegala (cf. art.13 alin.3 din legea 3/2000 privind organizarea si desfasurarea referendumului, "Proiectele de lege sau propunerile legislative privind modificarea limitelor teritoriale ale comunelor, oraşelor şi judeţelor se înaintează Parlamentului spre adoptare numai după consultarea prealabilă a cetăţenilor din unităţile administrativ-teritoriale respective, prin referendum. În acest caz organizarea referendumului este obligatorie").

Va surprinde?

Revolt and martyrdom (EN)

Notwithstanding the attempts (sometimes rather pathetic, like this one) to make sense of the momentous developments in the Arab world, the events there (as I argued before) remain largely incomprehensible for many Westerners.

Among others, it is mind-boggling how the protests can continue for weeks in places like Syria or Yemen, in the face of atrocious repression by desperate governments clinging to power.

I would argue that any serious effort to understand what motivates such resilience of protests should look at the cultural and especially religious background of the Arab societies, which makes so many of their youth ready for martyrdom to a degree nowhere to be seen in our time anywhere in the (post-)Christian West. The Tunisian revolt was actually sparked by such a self-inflicted act of martyrdom.

Once the barrier of fear has been broken, the fact - reinforced with fresh examples on a weekly basis - is that Muslim youth in Arab countries are far more willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause, and this willingness is nurtured and sustained in time for a lot longer than one can even imagine nowadays in Western societies. And religion plays a huge role in this: Arab revolts are re-ignited every Friday by the prayer in mosques, they follow a ritualistic pattern as much as a political one.

Embracing the opportunity (and risks) of Arab democracy (EN)

As the authoritarian order in the Arab world is shaking in the face of popular uprisings that have broken through the socially entrenched fear barrier, an equally epic struggle is taking place in the West to come to terms with its own fears vis-a-vis the Arabs, and to comprehend the until recently unimaginable prospect of Arab democracy. 

For the West, the current dilemma is whether to embrace what looks like the chance of an unprecedented democratic opening in the Middle East (and, yes, with all the risks associated to it), or stick to the old comfort zone of familiar dictators who deliver "stability and security" in a volatile region.

This shouldn't be a dilemma at all.
For the "realist" position of privileging "stability" over change is riddled with inconsistencies and, in the longer term, breeds risks at least as serious than those associated with the alternative.