Epstein Secrets

ble. But would the general decline in military budgets hold? Would the new national boundaries that divided the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia be sustainable? As modern authoritarianism has taken root and ex- panded its influence, the answers to these questions are increasingly negative.

of politi- cal mastery rather than neutral measurements of pub- lic preference. Putin's victories at the polls enable him to reject comparisons with Leonid Brezhnev and other doddering defensive Soviet-era leaders. Likewise, Hugo Chavez boasted that unlike the colonels and generals who ruled over South America

hip in the Middle East carries the potential to send shivers throughout Central Asian authoritarian states. As for the Americans, they don't want a Yugoslavia-style situation where they are under pressure to militarily intervene. One can also argue that from a human rights perspective, chaos can be worse

ns in 1947, 1949 and 1954 that all broke down according to tribal, regional and sectarian interests. Hafez finally ended the chaos by becoming the Leonid Brezhnev of the Arab world: He staved off the future by institutionalizing fear, even as he did nothing to nurture a civil society out of the country's inhe

rable. But would the general decline in military budgets hold? Would the new national boundaries that divided the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia be sustainable? As modern authoritarianism has taken root and ex- panded its influence, the answers to these questions are increasingly negative. 1

of politi- cal mastery rather than neutral measurements of pub- lic preference. Putin's victories at the polls enable him to reject comparisons with Leonid Brezhnev and other doddering, defensive Soviet-era leaders. Likewise, Hugo Chavez boasted that unlike the colonels and generals who ruled over South American