Learning from History

Abstract

Politicians and journalists habitually mine history for watershed moments or decisions to use as metaphors for why wars are necessary or avoidable. Pearl Harbor was invoked repeatedly after 9/11; the failure at Munich to stop Hitler was provided as a reason to intervene in Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. We can debate the uses and abuses of history in this practice, but it continues unabated.1 Curiously, when it comes to alternatives to open conflict, we tend to engage in historical abstinence. Nevertheless, we have much to learn from history as to why we need dissent and dissidents, particularly since authoritarian rulers take greater care in paying attention to history and have adapted their tactics and strategies accordingly in dealing with them. Moreover, in incorporating these lessons into our foreign and security policy, we might go far to avoid conflict while promoting our values and interests abroad, all the while advancing meaningful political and social change in support of democracy. By paying attention to the powerful role dissent and dissidents played in the collapse of authoritarian communism, we can learn much about how to engage (and how not to engage) with authoritarian governments such as China and Iran. By reflecting on the evolution of our own historical protection of free expression and the cultivation of dissent in advanced democracies, we can learn much about how a liberal culture and independent civil society is a necessary prerequisite for consolidated democracies and a measure of current democratic health.China is a litmus test, and 76-year-old Bao Tong is a case in point. He holds the distinction of being the most senior government leader charged and imprisoned following the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. A trusted official, he had the audacity to suggest to his communist colleagues that they should perhaps listen to the dissidents. When visited by a recent CBC journalist David Gutnick during the period of mild relaxation of censorship offered by the Beijing Olympics, he was not surprised, and clearly understood his role as the token dissident on display during the games.2 However, his voice will only be heard outside China; access to him is carefully arranged and allowed only to foreign correspondents. During the interview, Bao talked about China's two faces - the face it wants to show the world and was proudly on display in Beijing, and its darker authoritarian face that continues to severely restrict free expression and overt political opposition. In many respects, Bao is no dangerous radical from a communist perspective: he believes that China could continue to modernize within the strictures of communism, and that by establishing and cultivating basic human rights might evolve into a republic, not an empire. He remains a believer in communism as a means of helping the masses, in this case the peasants and the urban poor, and is critical of the excesses of capitalist development and the rampant urbanization that is rapidly changing China. However, he advocates another revolution on their behalf, and in this sense it is no wonder he presents such a danger to the current authorities and their entrenched interests.China's government has learned well that a little dissent is a dangerous thing and works assiduously to keep a lid on it with a sophisticated approach to censorship that includes both legal regulation and technical control. ISPs regularly filter access to specific websites, and blogging sites have filtering systems that prevent users from discussing taboo topics, such as the Falun Gong movement, Taiwanese independence, or autonomy for Tibet. Countless state agencies and thousands of public and private employees are involved directly and indirectly. Still, Chinese bloggers operate as unofficial netizens and watchdogs, drawing attention to all forms of official corruption, particularly because significant public protests are largely outlawed.Today's pragmatic and internationally savvy authoritarian rulers - be they in Iran or Saudi Arabia, China or Zimbabwe - cannot be unaware of the role played by dissidents in central and eastern Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. …