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This is a watershed election for Uganda. In some small hyperbole Uganda could become the next Rwanda or the next Sudan, depending on whether or not the incumben

This is a watershed election for Uganda. In some small hyperbole Uganda could become the next Rwanda or the next Sudan, depending on whether or not the incumbent is unseated. I would focus on the regional peoples' politics rather than the technocracy or American politics. I firmly believe your thrust is irrelevant to the core issue, if not solely for the immediacy of a democratic threat. I'm not an expert on this, but my family and I have been following this revolution for the past few months. To me, it's a promise to the people that things can get better.

jimkleiber 6y ago
I appreciate you pointing this out. The article says very little about the political context of this election and Uganda in general. From what I understand, not being an expert either but having spent quite a few months in Uganda in the last few years, Museveni has been the president since 1986 and brought a lot of stability to the country, aka brought peace after lots of conflict under Idi Amin. Some people have expressed gratitude for that and fear that Uganda will go back into the violence it faced before and yet seem very tired of the way Museveni has been running the country and want new leadership. Recently, there has been stronger opposition and in the last few years, a popular musician, Bobi Wine, decided to get involved in politics and declared to run for president. I imagine, if I were in government, I might be afraid of the US, China, Russia, or other countries bringing their political influence into the country through the internet. I might fear revolutions like the ones that happened in Tunisia and Egypt and other countries. I may also just fear my own citizens and what they want. It's hard for us in the US to know how much of the political discourse here is from the citizens vs external sources vs government sources, and I could imagine even harder sometimes in other countries to figure that out. That's the tricky part with this decision, it could be to stop foreign influences, it could be to stop local influences, it could be to amplify government influences, or a combination of all three.
- dirtyid 6y ago
  > might be afraid of the US, China, Russia, or other countries bringing their political influence Incidentally Uganda was previous battleground of US campaign against Huawei with reference to Wine. >Huawei technicians have been helping governments in Uganda and Zambia spy on their political opponents, a new report says https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-workers-helped-african-governments-spy-opponents-report-2019-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-workers-helped-africa... Snarky, but interest reading dissecting the agenda behind WSJ article. Choice quote: >The WSJ doesn't say how it obtained the documents, though it does reveal that Wine was recently in Washington DC where he had briefed the US government on events in Uganda and had received offers of assistance. https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/15/huawei_uganda_report/ https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/15/huawei_uganda_report/ TLDR; Washington upset Huawei prevented them from meddling in domestic Uganda affairs. Huawei lawful interception implementation erodes US influence operations abroad. No surprise tech sovereignty is gaining momentum in any place that is able.
  - jimkleiber 6y ago
    Ah I didn't know about this. I appreciate you linking the articles. So it's probably a combination of US, Chinese, and local influences pushing and pulling on politics. Makes me think just how antiquated the idea of geography-based government could be when we have instant communications with people around the world. I think national, regional, and local governments really have no idea how to deal with internet interactions that cross geographical jurisdictions.

jimkleiber 6y ago

I appreciate you pointing this out. The article says very little about the political context of this election and Uganda in general. From what I understand, not being an expert either but having spent quite a few months in Uganda in the last few years, Museveni has been the president since 1986 and brought a lot of stability to the country, aka brought peace after lots of conflict under Idi Amin. Some people have expressed gratitude for that and fear that Uganda will go back into the violence it faced before and yet seem very tired of the way Museveni has been running the country and want new leadership. Recently, there has been stronger opposition and in the last few years, a popular musician, Bobi Wine, decided to get involved in politics and declared to run for president. I imagine, if I were in government, I might be afraid of the US, China, Russia, or other countries bringing their political influence into the country through the internet. I might fear revolutions like the ones that happened in Tunisia and Egypt and other countries. I may also just fear my own citizens and what they want. It's hard for us in the US to know how much of the political discourse here is from the citizens vs external sources vs government sources, and I could imagine even harder sometimes in other countries to figure that out. That's the tricky part with this decision, it could be to stop foreign influences, it could be to stop local influences, it could be to amplify government influences, or a combination of all three.

dirtyid 6y ago
> might be afraid of the US, China, Russia, or other countries bringing their political influence Incidentally Uganda was previous battleground of US campaign against Huawei with reference to Wine. >Huawei technicians have been helping governments in Uganda and Zambia spy on their political opponents, a new report says https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-workers-helped-african-governments-spy-opponents-report-2019-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-workers-helped-africa... Snarky, but interest reading dissecting the agenda behind WSJ article. Choice quote: >The WSJ doesn't say how it obtained the documents, though it does reveal that Wine was recently in Washington DC where he had briefed the US government on events in Uganda and had received offers of assistance. https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/15/huawei_uganda_report/ https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/15/huawei_uganda_report/ TLDR; Washington upset Huawei prevented them from meddling in domestic Uganda affairs. Huawei lawful interception implementation erodes US influence operations abroad. No surprise tech sovereignty is gaining momentum in any place that is able.
- jimkleiber 6y ago
  Ah I didn't know about this. I appreciate you linking the articles. So it's probably a combination of US, Chinese, and local influences pushing and pulling on politics. Makes me think just how antiquated the idea of geography-based government could be when we have instant communications with people around the world. I think national, regional, and local governments really have no idea how to deal with internet interactions that cross geographical jurisdictions.