Accountability goes hand in hand with reform.
Reform is a process, and not an event.
It takes time to restore an old historic car - you can't just do it overnight. That's how I look at the administration that came before Obama.
Reform is a verb …. The process of Reform is an ongoing, dynamic one, not a static process that has reformed and is finished becoming.
We keep looking at democratization as an event—like the fall of the Berlin Wall—but it’s actually a process.
The religions are obsolete when the reforms do not proceed from them.
Political reform need not go hand in hand with economic liberalization. I do not believe that if you are libertarian, full of diverse opinions, full of competing ideas in the market place, full of sound and fury, therefore you will succeed.
In order to bring about the transition from the condition of the present to another newly resolved on, every reform should be allowed to proceed as much as possible from men’s minds and thoughts
China reformed its state sector before, in the late 1990s. Tens of millions were laid off at the time. That was scary and we had warnings of social unrest. But it did not happen. Instead, there was a restructuring in our economic system. I am not sure if China will follow a Western playbook in this respect.
It is what makes the reform process an art, not just a science. You have to develop a strategy that tells you what reform measures you should follow and in what sequence.
In this situation [perestroika] problems and difficulties are unavoidable. For it involves far-reaching changes in everything—in the way of life, the attitude toward work and civic duty. We have chosen, definitively and irrevocably, the route leading to new forms of life: democratizing our society in all spheres.
What we did say is that it is up to the Syrians themselves to decide how to run the country, how to introduce the reforms, what kind reforms, without any outside interference.
We've worked with President Yeltsin. He is the President of the country. He's been a reformer. We've been able to accomplish a number of things together.
Democracy and economic reform go together.
The message I would say to China is, 'Carry on with the reform; carry on with the change you are making.'
Having decisions made not in midnight deals but in the light of objective evidence and after consulting those who will be affected should itself provide some reassurance that the EU is trying to reform itself.
I?m not even sure I?d go into a reformed House of Lords. But let?s put it like this, the decision would have been easier had there been not even complete reform but a substantial stride.
I am happy and proud that during one year of presidency, my initiatives have been strongly supported by the people and society and we have launched the process of vitally important state reforms.
Democratic reform, depends less on legislative amendments than on creating a climate of democracy.
Legal reform in Russia is a must. And I keep track of it daily.
The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy.
I urge North Korea's leaders to reflect on Burma's experience. While the work of reform is ongoing, Burma has already broken out of isolation and opened the door to a far better future for its people.
The word Amendment itself is an encouraging thing, isn't it? Because an amendment, it tells of a system of government that allows for the improvement of itself. Just move forward a little bit, one day at a time.
But at the same time, I think we recognize we can't impose democracy from without, particularly American-style democracy. We need to work with those elements in the region that are moving towards a reformed process and there are a number of them.
Redemption isn't giving a bank robber a job as a teller.
