Quotes by Larry Diamond

“The fundamental problem is this is not a consensus constitution, and one part of the country has massively rejected it. This was not a joyful vote. It was a pragmatic vote to continue the process.”

“Can the Whole World Become Democratic?”

“I think its very fragile. Im very worried.”

“Thats how Nigeria fell into civil war in the 1960s.”

“To presume that any deal is better than a delayed deal, thats based on a political strategy that we have to get out as ugly as we can, as quickly as we can, ... Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq .”

“Yes, speed is a concern for domestic public opinion polls and Iraqi public opinion, ... But they are taking a risk here. They may get a bad product in the end and run the risk of civil war.”

“It is an extremely fateful time,”

“They want to start withdrawing because they can feel the heat here in the United States,”

“The Administration is now starting to lose its base on the war, and if this continues, it will come under increasing pressure to accelerate our withdrawal, Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq.”

“I have been struck that so many of the intellectual, neo-conservative supporters of the war have been quite critical of the Bush administrations management, or mismanagement, of the post-war situation in Iraq, both politically and militarily.”

In an age of widespread communication and accountability, people expect political participation and accountability much more than they did in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. The only way the demand for meaningful political participation and choice can be suppressed is to constrain liberty - Larry Diamond, Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), Chapter 1 (‘Defining and Developing Democracy’). p. 4