Readers who have been with Pundita's blog since May are familiar with reader "Liz," who made her first appearance as a contributor during exchanges about the security situation at the Mexican border.
Her initial letter made it clear that she was knowledgeable about disaster planning but from a later exchange I learned that her specific area of expertise is cyber security; also that she was the author of a 2002 book on the topic, Planning for Survivable Networks.
She asked me not to publish her real name. As the months went by I was so impressed with her observations on a range of issues that I felt bad I couldn't give them proper accreditation. Also, I encouraged her to return to writing if she could squeeze out time from her work schedule.
Last week she sent an essay titled, The Worst of All Possibilities; it struck me as the perfect companion piece to Harvest for the World, which I planned to be the last 'daily' post for the Pundita blog. However, I made a strong case that she allow me to give the essay proper accreditation. She agreed, and thus I can finally reveal that Liz is Annlee A. Hines.
In Harvest for the World I return to a major Pundita theme, which is that democracy is the only form of government suitable for the age of human megapopulations. The Worst of all Possibilities zeroes in on the kind of thinking in Western democratic government that answers totalitarian aggression with appeasement, and which finds rationales for tolerating despotic government.
Until the advanced democracies abandon that thinking at the policy level, emerging democracies will continue to struggle uphill against forces that would return them to government that represents the worst of all possibilities.
Annlee points out that sustaining more than lip service to democracy depends on strength of character and acknowledging the limits of risk aversion. Her essay addresses themes that are vital for the American public, academia and policymakers to confront, so I hope she will continue to publish essays on the theme -- and under her own name. Now, I am happy to present Annlee's essay, and with thanks for her contribution....
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