33. Is freedom failing? (TIME May 21, 2007) by Peter Beinart

From Russia to Bangladesh, democracy is under assault.
Here's what the West must do to save it

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In 1999 Nigerians did something remarkable: they elected a President. After 16 years of military rule and four decades of political and economic failure, Africa's most populous country held a free election. 'Globally, things are going democratically,' a Lagos slum dweller told the New York Times. 'We want to join the globe.'
It was a good time to get on board. The percentage of democracies in the world had doubled since the 1970s, to more than 60%. Many of the remaining autocracies--pariah states like North Korea, Burma and Iran--seemed to be living on borrowed time. In ideological terms, as Francis Fukuyama famously de-clared, history was ending--and Nigeria didn't want to be left behind.
That was then. But when Nigerians went to the polls again last month, democracy lost. In an orgy of ballot-box stuffing and violence, punctuated by an attempted truck bombing of the electoral-commission headquarters, the ruling party won what some observers thought was the most fraudulent election ever in Nigeria--which is saying something. Once again, Nigeria is catching a wave. From Bangladesh to Thailand to Russia, political freedom is in retreat. In a book due out later this year, Hoover Institution political scientist Larry Diamond notes that 'we have entered a period of global democratic recession.'

A. 어휘
assault 공격. remarkable 주목할만한, 두드러진. military rule 군사통치.
populous 인구가 많은. globally 전 세계적으로. Lagos 나이지리아 수도.
slum dweller 빈민굴 거주자.
get on board [비행기. 배. 버스 등을] 타다, 時流(시류)에 편승하다.
democracies 민주주의 국가들. autocracies 독재국가들. pariah 浮浪者(부랑자).
pariah states 깡패나라. live on borrowed time 수명이 얼마 남지 않았다.
terms 말씨, 표현. de-clare 선언하다. be left behind 뒤에 쳐지다. poll 투표, 여론조사.
orgy 진탕 마시고 떠들기, 법석대기, 亂行(난행). ballot-box 투표함.
stuffing 속을 채우기, 剝製(박제). punctuate 강조하다, 두드러지다, 구두점을 찍다.
the electoral-commission headquarters 선거관리위원회 본부.
the ruling party 執權黨(집권당). observers [선거상황] 관찰자.
fraudulent 사기를 치는. ever 여태껏, 지금까지. retreat 후퇴. due ...할 예정인.
institution [학술적. 사회적인] 회, 協會(협회). political scientist 정치학자.
recession 후퇴, 경기후퇴.

B. 구문
- In an orgy of ballot-box . . . ever in Nigeria.
cf. punctuated→which was punctuated→and it (the orgy) was punctuated.
[투표함 채우기, 폭력, 특히 선거관리위원회에 대한 폭탄트럭 폭파시도 같은 난장판 선거에서 집권당은 몇몇 관찰자들(유엔 선거감시단)이 생각하는 바와 같이 나이지리아 역사상 가장 심한 선거사기에서 승리하였다.]

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What happened? Iraq, for one. The U. S's war on terrorism was always a mixed blessing for democracy. President Bush says spreading freedom is key to preventing future terrorist attacks, but his own policies have made reform much harder. For Middle East dictators who equate democratization with chaos, Iraq has been a godsend. With anarchy threatening to engulf the region, the U.S. now needs dictators like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah more than they need the U.S., which leaves little leverage to push reform. When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice went to Cairo in June 2005, she made Egyptian democracy the centerpiece of her trip. By the time Defense Secretary Robert Gates went there last month, he refused to discuss the topic at all.
Then there's oil. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has noted, the price of crude oil and the tide of freedom tend to move in opposite directions. Before 9/11, the price per bbl. fluctuated between $20 and $30. Now it hovers between $50 and $65. And that's not likely to change anytime soon, given rising demand from China and India. That gives oil-producing autocracies such as Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Sudan and now Nigeria more money to crush or buy off internal dissent. And it makes it easier for them to win friends and influence people around the world. A decade ago, authoritarian governments were largely on the defensive. Today Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is cloning himself in Bolivia and Ecuador. And Iran is on the verge of dominating the Middle East.

A. 어휘
a mixed blessing 불행도 되고 행복도 되는 축복.
spread-spread-spread 확장시키다. prevent 예방하다. reform 개혁. dictator 독재자.
equate...with ...와 동등하게 생각다. democratization 民主化(민주화). chaos 혼돈.
godsend 神의 선물, 뜻밖의 행운. anarchy 무정부 상태. threaten 위협하다.
engulf [深淵(심연)따위로] 빨아들이다, 빠져들게 하다. leverage 효력, 지레의 작용.
Secretary of State 國務長官(국무장관). Defense Secretary 국방장관.
crude 가공하지 않은. the tide 추세, 경향. cf. tide 潮流(조류).
in opposite directions 相互(상호) 반대방향으로. 9/11. 미국 뉴욕의 9.11 테러.
fluctuate 변화하다, 오르내리다, 動搖(동요)하다. hover 빙빙 맴돌다, 旋回(선회)하다.
crush 눌러 부수다. buy off 매수하다. internal 내부의. dissent 異議(이의), 불찬성.
authoritarian 독재주의의, 권위주의의. be on the defensive 守勢(수세)를 취하다.
clone 無性生殖(무성생식)하다. on the verge of 금방...하려고 하는. cf. verge 가장자리.
dominate 지배하다, 좌우하다.

B. 구문
- which leaves little leverage to push reform
[그것은(미국이 독재자를 필요로 하는 상황) 개혁을 밀어붙일 힘을 남기지 않는다.]
-it→ for them to win 이하를 받는 가목적어