The Banality of Abu Ghraib

ANKARA It has become a cliché to characterize our era as one of multiple rapid transformations.

NEW YORK It has become something of a cliché to predict that Asia will dominate the twenty first century.

Here is one case where a bit more vulgar showbiz may be exactly what democracy requires.

Routine increases banality and thoughtlessness the personal disappears.

Too often, however, governments ignore or distort public aspirations, stripping the discussion of all but officially approved platitudes.

Fear of sharia law is matched by anger at the rapacious vulgarity of developers and entrepreneurs backed by Erdoğan s government.

Even when the Rio 20 agenda includes something more properly environmental say, the supply of water platitudes predominate.

New social movements, seeking to de mythologize history, rejecting platitudes justifying the policies of elite interests, and demanding greater institutional accountability, seemingly threatened the entire establishment.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the further the economy plunges, the more defiant Putin becomes. The great unanswered question is how long Putin will be able to rely on nationalist kitsch to overwhelm Russians rational calculation of their interests.

In countries with an engaged civil society and room for debate, the discourse on the rule of law can be wide ranging and substantive. Too often, however, governments ignore or distort public aspirations, stripping the discussion of all but officially approved platitudes.