At a time when the US and friends are trying to impose democracy on Iraq, the news of crowds demonstrating against the recent presidential election result in the centre of Kiev reminded me of similar happenings in Eastern Europe 15 or so years ago.
With the demise of Soviet power, Eastern European populations hit the streets in mass demonstrations. The communist regimes fell soon after.
I'll never forget the sight of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's look of horror when he realised the rally he was fronting was actually a demonstration against his government, rather than the stage managed pro-government event he was expecting. Or all those people attacking the Berlin wall with hammers and pick axes. Or the crowds demonstrating in the centre of Prague.
The striking thing about these revolutions is that the new governments have remained largely democratic, despite the difficulties faced from years of prior economic neglect, and the populations' disappointment at the slow pace of reform.
Peoples' revolutions seem to produce lasting change. When conditions are so bad that the incumbent government's security forces won't take action against the demonstrators, change is assured. Time will tell if this is happening in the Ukraine.
The only other successful method of imposing lasting democratic change to a country is to completely destroy it, as happenned in Germany and Japan after WW2.
Contrast this to Iraq, where the US and allies hope to impose a democratic government on a defeated, but largely intact, country. They'll need to do a lot more bombing and killing before they're likely to succeed.
