Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Monday, January 5, 2015

Collapsing Governments

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/they-just-melt-away

It does seem that you either reach for the "Tiananmen Solution" early or simply wither quickly away.  With a regime dependent on force, you have to maintain a careful balance.  Too much force and you crush the society or make it so that there is nothing to lose by opposing it.  Too little and you risk losing the fear that keeps you in power.

It will be interesting to see if Russia reaches a similar crisis point.  At what point do the siloviki turn on Putin?

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