Larry Diamond Quotes

We're in the middle of the transformation of a society that has handled its politics through repression to a society that will handle its politics through democratic institutions.

I believe the democratic transformation in Iraq will lead to change in Middle East.

You cannot apply your high standards to a country [Egypt] burdened with decades of autocratic rule. Our democracy is still in its infancy.

With Taiwan, it took about 40 years to go from an authoritarian to a democratic society.

Many people leave government disillusioned about its ability to achieve change and cynical about politicians. I left with rather opposite lessons.

My participation in the presidential elections can truly be a step on the path towards the transformation that our country needs so much.

It may take a generation to achieve democracy. But our generation must accomplish this and not pass the buck to the next.

I do think the Cubans have to change some of the political structures there and allow critical voices, for their own sakes, because unless there is accountability the revolution will totally atrophy.

I strongly believe that at this point in America's history, we need a president that will not just continue, even with a new face and with some changes and with some maverick aspects, who will not just continue, basically, the policies we have been following in recent years. I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change.

The China of the 1970s was a communist dictatorship. The China of the twenty-first century is a one-party state without a firm ideological foundation, more similar to Mexico under the PRI than Russia under Stalin. But the measurement of the political and the economic evolution has not yet been completed, and is one of the weak points of the system.

I'm not a person who thinks the world would be entirely different if it was run by women. If you think that, you've forgotten what high school was like.

I think the modernization of Chinese economy and Chinese society is a prime concern.

The result of the revolution in Germany has been to establish a democracy in the best sense of the word. We are steering towards an order of things guaranteeing a process of a natural and reasonable selection in the domain of political leadership, thanks to which that leadership will be entrusted to the most competent, irrespective of their descent, name or fortune. The memorable words of the great Corsican that every soldier carries a Field Marshal's baton in his knapsack, will find its political complement in Germany.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

It is easier to run a revolution than a government.

The terms of the 2008 constitution [which ensures the military will continue to be the ultimate authority] could not benefit Burma in the long run. I think this constitution should be revised.

The notion that somehow you're going to have freedom just kind of outbreak in Cuba, I think is false.

We have to craft new political realities, not only in places like India, Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, but here at home as well. Another world is possible.

The most perilous moment for a bad government is when it seeks to mend its ways. Only consummate statecraft can enable a king to save his throne when, after a long spell of oppression, he sets out to improve the lot of his subjects.

The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy.

Perhaps every generation thinks of itself as a lost generation and perhaps every generation is right.

Donald Trump is as decisive as anybody I've ever met. I just don't see him running around asking various people in his inner circle, "What do you think I ought to do here?" I think he knows what he wants to do, and he seeks support for it or talks to people that oppose him and he may listen to them. But I don't think he's indecisive at all.

I think that's why I'm so well-suited to this time, because I think the values reflect really profound American values, and I think my agenda would be the best way to really get Americans once again to feel more confident and more optimistic about our future and deliver results, which I think is what it's about.

Sometimes I ask myself whether [Indira Gandhi] had, even then, a certain contempt for the system she represented and, years later, would overthrow.

There were 16 people in the race, including a number of governors, and there's only one left. And I think that at the end we have to make sure that we have somebody that can go to that town, change that system, grow employment, change the whole way in which it works and ship power money and influence back to the states. So I'm optimistic about it.