Anocracy
Dear Editor: We’ve just celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I’ve been thinking a lot about anocracy. “What is that?” you ask. I had to look it up, too. According to Wikipedia, “Anocracy or semi-democracy is a form of government that is loosely defined as part democracy and part dictatorship, or as a “regime that mixes democratic with autocratic features.”
The term has been in the news recently because of a new book by political scientist, Barbara F. Walter, “How Civil Wars Start.” She’s been interviewed and I’ve been reading and listening to her thoughts.
Many are concerned about the state of our democracy, both in the U.S. and globally. Did you know that we are no longer the oldest democracy in the world? Switzerland now has that honor, followed by New Zealand. The U.S. status changed on Jan. 6, 2021. This is according to the Center for Systemic Peace (https://www.systemicpeace.org/).
We’ve also been hearing murmurings of potential civil war. According to the author, who has studied civil wars internationally for over 30 years, they rarely happen in democracies or autocracies. It’s the countries that are in between, the anocracies, that have civil wars. My conclusion is that keeping America safe from civil strife requires protecting our democracy. All political parties should be interested in strengthening our rights to vote and protecting legally done election results, which are the foundation of democracy.
If you’d like to learn more about anocracy and civil war, read this article, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-a-civil-war-ahead, and/or listen to the interview that is linked at the bottom of the page, “A New Civil War in America?”
Would you like to take action? Check out thirdact.org. ThirdAct is a national network of 60 and older adults interested in taking action on protecting Democracy and the planet. You can register for their nationwide Zoom call January 26 at 4 pm Alaska time. They also have an excellent hour-long video by Bill McKibben on how to write Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds.
Mim McConnell, Sitka
