By STEPHEN SESTANOVICH
Ordinary citizens shot by cops, and then
cops shot by an angry,
heavily armed citizen: Recent events have produced a moment of intense
national introspection, with Americans reflecting on race relations, the rule of law,
economic opportunity, gun control, and more. Because many
parts of this story are so distinctly American, it’s easy to forget that the
role of the police has become a source of tension in many countries. The
pattern carries an ominous message: Nothing outrages people—or undermines
political legitimacy—quite as much as systematic abuse by officers of the law.
Consider a few countries I happen to
follow closely—those of the former Soviet Union. In Russia, where 80% of
the public thinks the police are a serious problem, a court heard closing
arguments this week in the trial of a group of so-called partisans—young toughs
charged with revenge-killing of cops. According to the Moscow Times, the accused have
become local heroes in the Russian Far East.
In Ukraine, rough conduct by the police
was closely related to the political upheaval of two years ago. The crowds in
downtown Kiev that ended up bringing down President Viktor Yanukovych might
have petered out early on but for public anger at late-night beatings of
demonstrators. These incidents led the number of
protesters to swell. After a hundred people were killed in a climactic confrontation
in February 2014, Mr. Yanukovych could no longer govern; members of his own
party voted to remove him.
In Georgia the details were different
but the story turned on the same public mood. An untested coalition challenging
then-President Mikheil Saakashvili swept to victory in 2012 after videos showing inmates
tortured by prison guards were broadcast nationwide.
Once you look for them, political
confrontations involving police brutality turn up in country after country: India, Cambodia,Paraguay, and Israel are
just a few recent cases. It’s worth recalling that the Tunisian produce vendor
who immolated himself in 2010 did so after a police beating and a failed
attempt to win justice from local bureaucrats. The upheaval that followed was
powered by the same outrage at official impunity as fueled events in Ukraine.
Both countries now call their uprisings by the same name—the Revolution of
Dignity.
These many cases have their unique
features. Some occurred in electoral democracies, others not; some reflected
ethnic divisions, others not; some involved organized protest, others not.
These differences only make the common theme more striking. In virtually every
case, people who had many grievances—economic hardship, official corruption,
rigged elections, discrimination of one sort or another—had lived with them for
a long time without resorting to violence. But they turned out to have more or
less the same breaking point. Physical abuse—in the worst cases, indiscriminate
killing—became the humiliation that made people decide they wouldn’t take it
any more. It’s a global pattern that Americans can learn
from.
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