Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Inordinate Powers
Noting the recent uproar in Persian blogs over the inclusion of notorious Tehran chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi as part of the Iranian delegation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, I am reminded of how cynical modern states can be in exercising their inordinate powers. Infamous for his involvement in torturing an Iranian-Canadian journalist, Mortazavi might even have a few laughs someday with our US ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte.
Yet, states and the international institutional architecture they've created are a reality that stateless nations and unrepresented peoples have to deal with in managing their own realities. States--like other established elites--may create more problems than they solve, but until we can sufficiently dissipate their destructive powers, they remain the proverbial 800 pound gorillas.
Yet, states and the international institutional architecture they've created are a reality that stateless nations and unrepresented peoples have to deal with in managing their own realities. States--like other established elites--may create more problems than they solve, but until we can sufficiently dissipate their destructive powers, they remain the proverbial 800 pound gorillas.
