The Carnival of Revolutions

Welcome to the Carnival of the Revolutions, ladies and gentlemen!

In this time, in our time, we're witnessing history unfolding every day, a spontaneous explosion of political activity breaking out around the world. We've seen it in Ukraine. We've seen it in Lebanon. But it's happening in countless other (often neglected) places. There is so much happening, it's often hard to keep up. The Carnival of Revolutions tries to provide a useful summary of the past week's progress on the march of freedom in the world.

Not all of the news is great. Some is even depressing. But we're here to tell the stories of the democratic reformers around the world, struggling for free and fair elections and/or other basic rights necessary for any democracy. We are conservatives, we are liberals, we are Democrats, we are Republicans, and we are everything in between.

We share one powerful goal, however: the advance of liberty in the world.

Democratic reformers living in "fear societies" don't necessarily need guns or large wads of cash to succeed. They do need:

- people to "tell their story"
- people to "hear their story"
- people to "know their story"
- people to "feel their story"

...which is where we come in.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan was quite popular among submitters this week.

Over at Blogrel, Katy examines an Azerbaijani poll with a healthy degree of scepticism. She also observes that the US Senate is drafting a resolution demanding free and fair democracy in the little nation; it seems the Senate has decided to employ tactics that the UN has demonstrated to be so very useful.

Finally, a more in-depth article on the political situation in Azerbaijan can be read at NewEurasia.

Armenia

Oneworld Multimedia Blog has an analysis about the serious problems in the Armenian economy, including but not limited to the lack of social mobility. There is also this fascinating piece about the Armenian government's attempts to curb youth activism.

Tajikistan

The Central Asia Democracy Project has brought us this article, asserting that Tajikistan is far behind nations like Kyrgyzstan as far as political evolution goes, and talking about what we might hope for in the future.

Iraq

As always, the most comprehensive guide to what's going on in Iraq can be found in Chrenkoff's Good news from Iraq, now on its 32nd installment. To stay informed, keeping up with these installments is crucial.

Over at Wayne's World 2005 we get a look at the artistic side of life, as this post deals with emerging painters in Iraq who, for the most part, seem to focus on their newly gained liberties as a source of inspiration.

Iran

Gateway Pundit has this piece on protests in Iran for the release of a jailed journalist.

Over at RegimeChangeIran is the most recent briefing on the situation in Iran. Dr. Zin's daily briefing is the most comprehensive source of news on Iran there is, stopping by regularly is highly recommended.

Uganda

Gateway Pundit has an entry, with video footage of Ugandans voting to make a new election system. This is not something you want to skip over! Check it out!

Bahrain

Gateway Pundit reports on the over 10,000 Bahraini citizens who took to the streets to protest for political reform.

Egypt

Gateway Pundit has video of anti-Mubarak protestors getting attacked by regime supporters and policemen.

Over at Ranting of a Sandmonkey, SM chronicles the disasterous attempt to hold a candlelight vigil, what would have been the second anti-terrorist protest that he had taken part in. Read the story here, then here.

Nepal

Gateway Pundit has an entry on the women in Nepal who are fighting for democracy.

Theory/Discussion

The British bombings have shaken us all. While contemplating the situation, The Sharpener asks How do you solve a problem like terrorism? An insiteful piece of writing on the central issue of our times.

The Vulgar Moralist has a piece called Exporting Jefferson that is a must read for those interested in modern democratic theory.


And that's a wrap. Nice of the Carnival of Revolutions to return to the womb. You can catch it at Blogrel this coming week, so don't miss it!

Check out the Carnival of Revolutions Home Base to find out what days are open for hosting, as well as where the Carnival will be headed in the near future.