The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 while highly defective democracies now account for more than 20 percent — twice the level four years earlier. When it comes to holding free and fair elections, defective democracies now perform substantially worse than they did four years ago; this is particu- larly true of Kenya and Nicaragua. Similarly, there has been a decline in respect for freedom of assembly and the right to organize in Kenya, Mada- gascar, Niger, South Africa and Uganda. Even such advanced democ- racies as Ghana, Croatia, Serbia and South Korea offer cause for concern, according to the survey. According to its authors, the survey offers some pointers to policymakers. Supporters of development and demo- cratic transformation are advised to zero in on countries with a high level of democratic legitimacy and relatively good governance but that lag in socioe- conomic progress. Targeted economic assistance to such countries can shore up their weak democratic regimes be- fore worsening poverty and an in- equitable income distribution under- mine their legitimacy altogether. The Transformation Index analyzes and evaluates the quality of democracy, the market economy and political man- agement in 128 developing and transi- tion countries. TheBertelsmannFound- ation and the Center for Applied Polit- ical Research at Munich University col- laborate in its production. Election 2010 in Sudan: A Testing Time The April 10 general election in Sudan, the country’s first multiparty vote inmore than two decades, is a crit- ical benchmark for that country and the region. As of early December, as many as 12 million voters had registered, though the opposition claims irregular- ities and those displaced from Darfur are refusing to register until peace is re- stored there. Authorities in Khartoum have ex- tended the registration deadline and balloting to facilitate more participa- tion. But many observers remain con- cerned about the unevenness of repre- sentation across constituencies. A rally in Khartoum on Dec. 7, or- ganized by the Sudan People’s Liber- ation Movement to demand electoral reform to prevent fraud, was met with tear gas, police batons and the arrest of three senior party figures. Indica- tions of renewed fighting in southern Sudan are also causing serious con- cern. Meanwhile, in the Darfur region, five Rwandan soldiers who were mem- bers of the joint African Union-U.N. Mission in Darfur were killed in two separate incidents by unknown gun- men on Dec. 4 and 5. At the same time, United Nations Secretary Gen- eral Ban Ki-moon appointed his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, to take over UNAMID, the U.N.’s largest peacekeeping effort, on Dec. 4. Days later, he placed a call to Sudan President Omar al-Bashir urging his “direct engagement” in securing the re- lease of two members of UNAMID who were taken hostage in August. The April elections, as well as a ref- erendum scheduled for January 2011 on whether the semi-autonomous and oil-rich south should secede, are a cru- cial test for the Obama administration’s new, comprehensive strategy for Sudan launched in October. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ hear- ings on Dec. 3 provided an interim progress report on that strategy, which is focused on three goals: definitively ending conflict, gross human rights abuses and genocide in Darfur; imple- menting the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South; and ensuring that Sudan does not become a safe haven for interna- tional terrorists. By all accounts, Washington is pro- ceeding on many levels with intensity and tight coordination of an intera- gency effort. The central conclusion of the exhaustive review process preced- ing the administration’s new policy was that success could not be achieved by focusing exclusively on Darfur or the CPA implementation. Both goals must be addressed seriously and simultane- ously as part of efforts to resolve and prevent conflict throughout Sudan. U.S. diplomacy must be sustained and broad, the review concluded, en- C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... J et transport has many implications for the Foreign Service. … So-called “personal diplomacy” may become increas- ingly attractive. High-ranking diplomats may prefer to “go there themselves” when no point on the globe is over 20 or 30 smooth hours away by direct flight. Large, expensive posts abroad may give way to smaller listening posts backed up by flying squads of highly-trained diplomats and experts. Further- more, why waste time and money on encoding, transmitting and decoding telegraphic messages when 600-mile-an-hour jets can speed written texts? —– From “The Foreign Service and the Jet Age” by Albert W. Stoffel, January 1960 FSJ .