Thursday, October 07, 2010

From Dictatorship to Democracy - Chapter Four: Dictatorships Have Weaknesses

KI Media is starting a series on From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp whereby a chapter from this book in both English and Khmer is published every 2-day interval, with prior submissions listed in the menu bar for easy recall. The emphasis is that of KI Media. For its original complete text go to:

This book has been translated into KHMER and its full version is available at:


Be inspired! Be coordinated! And take action!

KI Media
. . . . .



Click here to read the Khmer version of this chapter (PDF)


From Dictatorship to Democracy

CHAPTER FOUR
Dictatorships Have Weaknesses

Dictatorships often appear invulnerable. Intelligence agencies, police, military forces, prisons, concentration camps, and execution squads are controlled by a powerful few. A country’s finances, natural resources, and production capacities are often arbitrarily plundered by dictators and used to support the dictators’ will. [Sounds familiar?!]

In comparison, democratic opposition forces often appear extremely weak, ineffective, and powerless. That perception of invulnerability against powerlessness makes effective opposition unlikely.

That is not the whole story, however.

Identifying the Achilles’ heel

A myth from Classical Greece illustrates well the vulnerability of the supposedly invulnerable. Against the warrior Achilles, no blow would injure and no sword would penetrate his skin. When still a baby, Achilles’ mother had supposedly dipped him into the waters of the magical river Styx, resulting in the protection of his body from all dangers. There was, however, a problem. Since the baby was held by his heel so that he would not be washed away, the magical water had not covered that small part of his body. When Achilles was a grown man he appeared to all to be invulnerable to the enemies’ weapons. However, in the battle against Troy, instructed by one who knew the weakness, an enemy soldier aimed his arrow at Achilles’ unprotected heel, the one spot where he could be injured. The strike proved fatal. Still today, the phrase “Achilles’ heel” refers to the vulnerable part of a person, a plan, or an institution at which if attacked there is no protection.


The same principle applies to ruthless dictatorships. They, too, can be conquered, but most quickly and with least cost if their weaknesses can be identified and the attack concentrated on them.

Weaknesses of dictatorships

Among the weaknesses of dictatorships are the following:

1. The cooperation of a multitude of people, groups, and institutions needed to operate the system may be restricted or withdrawn.

2. The requirements and effects of the regime’s past policies will somewhat limit its present ability to adopt and implement conflicting policies.

3. The system may become routine in its operation, less able to adjust quickly to new situations.

4. Personnel and resources already allocated for existing tasks will not be easily available for new needs.

5. Subordinates fearful of displeasing their superiors may not report accurate or complete information needed by the dictators to make decisions.

6. The ideology may erode, and myths and symbols of the system may become unstable.

7. If a strong ideology is present that influences one’s view of reality, firm adherence to it may cause inattention to actual conditions and needs.

8. Deteriorating efficiency and competency of the bureaucracy, or excessive controls and regulations, may make the system’s policies and operation ineffective.

9. Internal institutional conflicts and personal rivalries and hostilities may harm, and even disrupt, the operation of the dictatorship.

10. Intellectuals and students may become restless in response to conditions, restrictions, doctrinalism, and repression.

11. The general public may over time become apathetic, skeptical, and even hostile to the regime.

12. Regional, class, cultural, or national differences may become acute.

13. The power hierarchy of the dictatorship is always unstable to some degree, and at times extremely so. Individuals do not only remain in the same position in the ranking, but may rise or fall to other ranks or be removed entirely and replaced by new persons.

14. Sections of the police or military forces may act to achieve their own objectives, even against the will of established dictators, including by coup d’état.

15. If the dictatorship is new, time is required for it to become well established. [No problem for Cambodia here!]

16. With so many decisions made by so few people in the dictatorship, mistakes of judgment, policy, and action are likely to occur.

17. If the regime seeks to avoid these dangers and decentralizes controls and decision making, its control over the central levers of power may be further eroded.

Attacking weaknesses of dictatorships

With knowledge of such inherent weaknesses, the democratic opposition can seek to aggravate these “Achilles’ heels” deliberately in order to alter the system drastically or to disintegrate it. [Sam Rainsy is brilliant in doing this, this is the reason the CPP wants so much to replace him with a less strong opposition leader.]

The conclusion is then clear: despite the appearances of strength, all dictatorships have weaknesses, internal inefficiencies, personal rivalries, institutional inefficiencies, and conflicts between organizations and departments. These weaknesses, over time, tend to make the regime less effective and more vulnerable to changing conditions and deliberate resistance. Not everything the regime sets out to accomplish will get completed. At times, for example, even Hitler’s direct orders were never implemented because those beneath him in the hierarchy refused to carry them out. The dictatorial regime may at times even fall apart quickly, as we have already observed.

This does not mean dictatorships can be destroyed without risks and casualties. Every possible course of action for liberation will involve risks and potential suffering, and will take time to operate. And, of course, no means of action can ensure rapid success in every situation. However, types of struggle that target the dictatorship’s identifiable weaknesses have greater chance of success than those that seek to fight the dictatorship where it is clearly strongest. The question is how this struggle is to be waged.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Khmers,

In 1840 during Hanoi's puppet queen Ang Mei, our ancestors uprised together in 8 days, and chase the Viet Invaders out of Cambodia.

What are you waiting for???

Anonymous said...

Go Khmer Go! Kill Viet,kill Viet! Khmer were brave,and now are braver than Ang Mei era.

Anonymous said...

Heng Soy's note that Mr Sam Rainsy is brilliant in attacking weaknesses of the CPP dictatorship is interesting. But the outcomes for Mr Sam Rainsy have been dismal. Does this mean Gene Sharp is wrong or what? Probably what.

KP

Anonymous said...

Anyone stupid enough to want war between the people of Cambodia and Viet Nam obviously is no friend of either!

Anonymous said...

តើប្រិយមិត្តអាចជួយគំនិតខ្ញុំបានទេ? ខ្ញុំដូចជាល្ងង់ណាស់ក្នុងការយល់ដឹងពីការចាត់ចែងដោះស្រាយបញ្ហាក្នុងសង្គម។ លោកអ្នកយល់យ៉ាងម៉េចអំពីតេជោនិងបញ្ហាជម្លោះដីធ្លី? គាត់ធ្វើមិនដឹងមិនឮ​ដោយសារគាត់មិនចេះដោះស្រាយ ឬយ៉ាងម៉េច? ក្នុងគំនិតគាត់ជានាយករដ្ឋមន្រ្តី គាត់គិតយ៉ាងម៉េចពីបញ្ហាហ្នឹង! តើមានដំណោះស្រាយអ្វីល្អទេ? ខ្ញុំល្ងង់ណាស់????

Anonymous said...

HI
Mitt nakk aans taing lay ja ti sneha by Ki media. I soum prab nakk thaa bel del aa HUn seN will lose election on next season, teu Sam Ransy ning tveu a vei HUn yuon? ro hun YUOn vea nao dar del. SAm rainsy guor te pro moul documents to bring them justice, imcluding his dogs.losing of farmrs' land, killed innocents...
Ena than noruk samrap aa cchke ropos YUOn, mintrov oy vea ruoch khluon leauy
sambath

Anonymous said...

"Dictatorship is now continueing to deminish in Arab world and soon will spread to Southeast Asia. I just can't wait to see when to get started and escelated. If Samdech Achko Hun Sen and his stupid son recognize that they should pack their bag and run like hell before they are denied to immigrate into new country", others said. But from my investigation, Hun Sen is the hero for Camdodian peopl, praised and supported by mosts Vietnamese born in Cambodia, though Hun can do what he wants. How about joinning Hun Sen, so we can be hero like him, beside that we can marry Vietnamese Women. Let me tell you those women are so beautiful, very beautiful...Sihanouk done that and his son is half Vietnames and half Cambodian.

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen is so clever and the Cambodian Heroe;
He know how to get Vietnamese (Youn) to die for him,
He and his wife earn their PhD without going to school or may be Hun is schooling on Vietnamese girl and scoring high.
He knew how to kill Cambodian petroits in any forms, toss them for alligator's food. lock them in presion.
He and his Vietnamese CPP kew how to rob land from farmer.
He know how to label himself on any schools SUCH AS SALA REAN HUN SEN PHNUM DOAN PENH in Cambodia except SALA REAN DERACHAN THAT SHOULD BE SALA REAN HUN SEN DERACHAN.
He know how to collect all resources, rubber tree and others good soil for his family.
He know how impower Vietnamese living in Cambodia to mortalize his Cambodian people, ect...if you can find any good comment about Samdech Achko Hun Sen, please feel free to add on...Because Samdech Hun has only one eye. He cannot see far.

Choy Yak

Anonymous said...

Hun Sen is so clever and the Cambodian Heroe;
He know how to get Vietnamese (Youn) to die for him,
He and his wife earn their PhD without going to school or may be Hun is schooling on Vietnamese girl and scoring high.
He knew how to kill Cambodian petroits in any forms, toss them for alligator's food. lock them in presion.
He and his Vietnamese CPP kew how to rob land from farmer.
He know how to label himself on any schools SUCH AS SALA REAN HUN SEN PHNUM DOAN PENH in Cambodia except SALA REAN DERACHAN THAT SHOULD BE SALA REAN HUN SEN DERACHAN.
He know how to collect all resources, rubber tree and others good soil for his family.
He know how impower Vietnamese living in Cambodia to mortalize his Cambodian people, ect...if you can find any good comment about Samdech Achko Hun Sen, please feel free to add on...Because Samdech Hun has only one eye. He cannot see far.

Choy Yak

Anonymous said...

Is achko Hun Sen one of the youn people raised in khmer too? His wife is definately youn so could be him. Where is the king of khmer now? sihanouk? Where r u? Y r u doing nothing, seeing khmers being tortured by youn government? This guy is also a killer of the khmer heroes back on 1970s

Anonymous said...

Brothers and sisters, study our history and enemy histories, learn lessons from our past, get together and make up a good plan before we start to do anything. Do not just deal with only the problem in our present but also lay out plan for generation to come and to win forever! It is easy to say it but to do it requires a thorough plan and serious commitment. We cannot just stand up here and there and get killed for nothing. Education, intelligence, and people's power, these are the most important ingredients in a win-win plan. Viet people have been planning for centuries to swallow us. They studied us. They spied on us. They carry out many plans until they achieve what they've got right now.
My suggestion is to educate our people so that our plan can carry out successfully.

Anonymous said...

The very immediate attack right now is UNITY from the people from all corners. Let us unite to condense the scattered lights and form them into LASER beam that can cut steel. Let us join hands and fight against the puppets of the Viets. Save our country. My fellow Khmer, please speak one voice, the voice of UNITY. We are the masters of our fate, not the Viets.