Article Title: Turkmenistan President Rewrites Constitution to Let Him Rule for Life
Author: N/A
Date Published: February 15th, 2016
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/turkmenistan-president-rewrites-constitution-to-let-him-rule-for-life
Article Summary:
Early in 2016, Turkmenistan's president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov drafted a new constitution for the country which would extend terms to seven years and no have an upper age limit to stay as president. The current constitution has five year terms and an upper age limit of seventy years. If the parliament is to pass thisnew constitution, Berdymukhamedov could rule the country for the rest of his life similar to what previous president Saparmurat Niyazov did before his death in 2006. Niyazov ruled the country as a dictator with a puppet government under his control. It appears that Berdymukhamedov is doing the same thing. He has already created a statue of himself and limmited the media similar to what a dictator would. Other Central Asian countries appear to be doing the same thing making it possible the Central Asia in the future will be entirely ruled by dictators.
Thoughts/Observations on the Article
It is very unsurprising to see a post-Soviet state becoming a dictatorship. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the instability of the newly formed countries resulted in one party usually led by one man taking power. It is sad to see how the people of these countries have never experienced the true freedom of Democracy and most likely will never experience it while living there. It surprises me how one man can change an entire country's constitution. That would never be possible in the United States. However, the poor infrastructure gives oppurtunity to a rise of a dictator who can do whatever he wants with the country. It seems that Turkmenistan will in the grip of Berdymukhadedov for a long time to come.
How the Article relates to Politics
This article represents how the politics of one country can be solely controlled by one man. This man can change any aspect of the government of his country including the constitution and host rigged elections to make it appear as if his country is a democracy. The article represents how varied the political responsibilities are between countries. In the U.S, the political responsibility is given to the citizens while in countries like Turkmenistan, the political responsibility falls under the control of only one man. One man can determine the fate of his country without the consent of his people. Similar to Belarus, it appears Turkmenistan will continue to be an autocracy in the distant future.