Impulse

When the administration first started re-justifying the Iraq war as an effort to spread democracy, they made it sound so easy. The rhetoric made it seem like bringing democracy to a new country was as simple as removing the old government and having an election. Uninstall; reinstall - just like software! So since installing democracy is just as easy as installing Windows or Linux, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and write this helpful installation guide for Democracy 1.0.

System Requirements for Democracy 1.0

• Will of the People set to desire democratic government.
• A long, cultural tradition emphasizing liberty and the value of the individual.
• Communications infrastructure
• Literacy (minimum); Education infrastructure (recommended)
• All militias in the system are compatible with current setting of Will of the People (highly recommended).

Installation notes

1. The fundamental application of Democracy is to enact the Will of the People. If the Will of the People is not set to democracy, Democracy 1.0 will not boot and the system may be permanently damaged.
2. Do not install Democracy unless all system requirements are met. Installing Democracy without all system requirements could seriously damage the credibility of the IT professionals seeking to install this application as well as interfere with nearby networks. Permanent system damage may occur that may prevent Democracy from ever running on that system.
3. For best results, the populace must trust in the newly installed electoral system. They must all agree to abide by the outcome of the election and trust that, though they may disagree with the outcome, they can change the decision in the next election.

Installation instructions

1. Make system requirements have been met.
2. Once all system requirements met, system will reboot and automatically look for installation program. The installation process proceeds automatically and often run unattended. (See case studies of the USA, UK, and most European systems). For insured success, follow the remaining steps.
3. Provide election training, organization, oversight, and voting machines (with paper audit trails).
4. Lift any embargos and foster trade and investment in the new system so that the new government has plenty of resources available.

Related posts:

1. Technology and democracy hand in hand
2. Thumbing the scales of democracy