THE former CIA analyst, Paul R. Pillar, asked this question in a recent essay in The National Interest: Why are we seeing so many popular street revolts in democracies? Speaking specifically of Turkey and Brazil, but posing a question that could be applied to Egypt, Israel, Russia, Chile and the United States, Pillar asks: "The governments being protested against were freely and democratically elected. With the ballot box available, why should there be recourse to the street?" It is an important question, and the answer, I believe, is the convergence of three phenomena. The first is the rise and proliferation of illiberal "majoritarian" democracies. In Russia, Turkey and...
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