Defending Democracy

Imagine that a country's leader were nearing the end of his term and began to think that for the good of the country (of course), he needed to remain in power. How would he make the decision? Where does one draw the line? What if the situation were urgent and no one else was ready to lead? How should "urgent" and "ready" be defined?

• Suppose that a leader denied the legal right to run for reelection decided that only he could provide the strong leadership needed by his country faced with imminent attack?

• Suppose that a leader denied the legal right to run for reelection decided that only he could provide the strong leadership needed by his country to continue its path of aggressive expansion in an increasingly hostile world?

• Suppose that a leader faced a judicial decision that would remove him from power?

• Suppose that a leader faced a judicial decision that would remove him from power and give power to a much younger person with a totally different policy perspective or to a party he had spent much of his life opposing?

Where should a leader draw the line?

Democracy is a privilege that will exist only so long as it is defended. Perhaps those who think they might like to have a democracy or those who think they might like to keep a democracy they were lucky enough to be born into should think about the circumstances under which a leader might decide his august presence at the top was more important than democracy.