revolutionary rumblings in Bishkek Where the hell did this come from? All of a sudden, thousands are camping in the streets (again) to demand the resignation of Kyrgystan's president (again), a dude who has only been in power since the so-called "Tulip Revolution" in early 2005. Apparently he isn't pursuing reforms quickly enough for the restless masses. This is totally reminding me of Bolivia a couple of years ago, when Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada was swept out of power and replaced by Carlos Mesa, whom Bolivian citizens gave almost exactly the same amount of time to prove himself--a year and a half--before extra-legally sacking him as well.

One of the many definitions of democratic "consolidation," which is an enduring concern for the pointy-headed political science types that I hang out with, is that political contestation and competition can occcur safely within the system without challenging the essential viability of that system. In other words, if you have some kind of political grievance, there's space to air that grievance and demand compensation for it without attacking the legitimacy of the entire state itself. Democratic consolidation is very, very hard. Authoritarian consolidation, on the other hand, is a total piece of cake.  ¶ 9:14 AM