Contents of Volume 23, 2012

We are living in the midst of a communications revolution that is likely to have significant effects on democracy. Though it is too soon to know where this revolution will lead, it is an opportune moment for a broader historical inquiry into the relationship between democracy and the media. Representative democracy was born in the era of print media, but over the past century it has accommodated the rise of broadcasting and now is being shaped by new communications technologies. As a result, we seem to be heading toward a more pluralistic but also more fragmented media environment that may pose a threat to the shared civic arena essential to democracy.

Burma today is in the midst of what will likely be a drawn-out game of political transition. It is going from a highly authoritarian military regime to something else. It is by no means clear that this will be a transition to democracy—or that the long-ruling military intends genuine democracy to be the destination. If the 2015 elections are to produce a viable democracy rather than a repeat of the 1990 calamity or a deeply resented and unstable semiauthoritarian regime, Burma has a lot of political work to do in the next two years. The good news is that national elections are still three years away. The worrisome news is that the hardest political work of the transition—the negotiation of political pacts—has not yet begun.