2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：民主制度下的选举

2018考博英语阅读经济学人文章每日精析：民主制度下的选举

　　考博英语阅读大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《经济学人》杂志文章作为题源，新东方在线考博频道为考博生们将其中的文章进行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英语阅读水平，读懂长难句。

　　导读

　　美国政治学家戴尔蒙德(Larry Diamond)根据选举的质量提出了民主的三种类型划分法，即自由民主、选举民主和假民主(liberal, electoral, and pseudo-democracy)。他认为，目前欧美实行的成熟的民主体制堪称自由民主，其特征是不仅有定期选举制度，而且有配套的保证公民行使其政治和社会权利的一系列法律制度，以及言论和新闻自由等等。大多数发展中国家虽具备并实行了民主的选举制度，但还缺乏相对应的其他法律制度保障，因而只能称其为选举民主。而一些国家虽然形式上举行了多党选举，但这些选举实质上却是不公正、不自由的，是披着民主外衣的假民主。在肯尼亚，如赞比亚那样强大的工会组织尚未形成。市民社会争取民主的运动主要是由教会和学生组织进行的。由于教会在组织和财力上都十分脆弱，在政治上也难以动员最广泛的群众参与，使得肯的市民社会总体上先天不足，只能在民主化过程中发挥有限的作用。

　　Elections in fragile democracies

　　在脆弱的民主制度下的选举

　　Make monitors matter

　　使得监管更重要

　　Foreign observers and local citizen-watchers need respect, encouragement and cash

　　外国和当地公民观察员们需要得到人们的尊重，鼓励以及资助。

　　Jul 20th 2017

　　NO ONE batted an eyelid earlier this year when Turkmenistan’s strongman, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was “re-elected” with nearly 98% of the vote. Why, one wonders, did he bother with an election at all? Yet in a growing number of fragile new democracies, especially in Africa, where similarly absurd results were once common, elections have become genuine. Since 1991 incumbent governments or leaders have been ousted at the ballot box at least 45 times, most recently in Nigeria, Ghana, the Gambia and Lesotho.

　　今年早些时候，当土库曼斯坦铁腕人物Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov以近乎98%的支持率重新当选的时候，没人对此产生异议。有人就好奇，既然已经知道是这样的结果，Berdimuhamedov为什么还要进行重新选举?在民主进程缓慢进行的国家，尤其是非洲国家，这样压倒性的选举优势曾经常出现，但是现在，民主选举确实是在进步了。从1991年以来，在尼日尼亚、加纳、冈比亚、莱索托等国家，当权政府和领导人已经被从选举箱中除名至少45次。

　　Strongman: n.铁腕人物

　　Incumbent: n.在职者

　　Oust: v.取代，逐出

　　Nerves still jangle at election time, especially when the outcome is likely to be close, patronage and corruption are pervasive, and rigging and violence have blighted previous ballots. A fraudulent election can tarnish a country’s reputation, threaten its stability, and deter investment and aid.

　　但是在选举期间，人们还是会担心，尤其是选举结果即将出炉的时候。在这期间，到处都是赞助和腐败，徇私舞弊和暴力也会影响先前的投票结果。一次掺有欺诈的选举会破坏一个国家的声誉、危害它的安全、阻挡外国投资和援助。

　　Jangle: v.烦扰，使烦躁不安

　　Blight: v.摧残，损伤

　　Patronage: n.赞助人，光顾

　　Rigging: n.徇私舞弊

　　Pervasive: adj.遍布的，四处散布的

　　Kenya, whose voters go to the polls on August 8th, is just such a case. Violence after an election in 2007 left at least 1,300 dead and 700,000 displaced. The country is the economic and strategic hub of east Africa, so a credible election this time matters not only to Kenyans but to many beyond their borders. Foreign and local observers will be vital to ensuring a clean contest in such a “transitional democracy” (see article).

　　8月8日，即将进行选举的肯尼亚就是个例子。2007年选举之后的暴乱，导致1300民众死亡，70万人流离失所。作为非洲东部的经济和战略中心，肯尼亚选举的影响波及很多国家。肯尼亚国内外观察员在保证透明选举这件事上，起着至关重要的作用。

　　Beat the cheat

　　打击舞弊者

　　In the bad old days no one (except the hapless citizens of the countries concerned) seemed to care much if elections were rigged, provided they were more or less peaceful. International monitors would swan in a few days before the poll and—more negligently—fly out again a day or two after it, often declaring the election to have been “free and fair” because they had seen voters cast their ballots without violence. No matter that fraud and bad blood often increase after polling day.

　　在过去，只要选举能够和平进行，就没有人(除了那些关心国家的“倒霉蛋”们)在乎它是否公平公正的。国际监管员们在选举之前只会到处瞎晃，他们还会粗心地在选举之后的几天后就飞离，然后说此次选举非常的“公平公正”，因为他们看到选民们是在没有爆发冲突的时候投的票。之后就再也不管选举之后留下的烂摊子。

　　Hapless: adj.倒霉的，不幸的

　　Negligently: adj.疏忽的，

　　The likes of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe prefer monitors from the African Union, who in the past have endorsed suspect results (they have recently become a bit more rigorous). More ambitious places, such as Kenya and Ghana, crave the imprimatur of the European Union and respected American outfits, notably the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute and the Carter Centre.

　　像津巴布韦总统Robert Mugabe这样的人，更喜欢赞成可疑票数的非洲联盟监管员(现在他们已经更谨慎了)。但是想更进一步发展的国家，例如肯尼亚和加纳，就更信任欧洲和美国的监管队伍，尤其是美国国家民主协会、国际共和研究所和卡特中心。

　　Imprimatur: n.认可，批准

　　Nowadays foreign monitoring teams start to arrive a good month before the big day and stay for at least a month after it. The outsiders help in several ways. They provide expertise on technology, especially concerning the registration of voters and the method of vote-counting. Monitors also help co-ordinate “parallel vote tabulation”, whereby samples of the results from randomly selected polling stations are collected and presented quickly to prevent fraud in the later counting process. Crucially, foreign monitors support local watchdogs who do most of the work and face the greatest risks.

　　现在国际监管队伍会在选举之前一个月就到达当地，并且在选举结束之后的一个月再离开。这些“外人”起到了不小的作用：他们能够提供专门的，尤其是涉及票数登记和记录的技术;他们还能够帮助协调“并行投票列表”，由此从投票站随机抽取的样本能够及时收取和陈列，也就能够减少计票环节的欺诈行为;最重要的是，国际监管员能够给冒险监察选举的人提供庇护。

　　Foreigners alone cannot ensure fair elections. They rely on the co-operation of local governments, to gain access to the entire process, including the voters’ register. But they can raise the bar against rigging. Beyond constraining the incumbents’ power, their scrutiny can build popular trust in the elections—and make it easier for losers to accept defeat.

　　但是仅仅靠国际监管员是远远不够的。他们需要当地政府的支持来参与包括选举人的登记过程在内的投票全过程。这样他们也能更好地减少滥用私权问题。除了限制当权者的权力之外，他们的审查还能在选举过程中营造相互信任的氛围，也让败选者们更能接受结果。

　　It is an expensive business, but worthwhile. Worryingly, the Trump administration is trying to slash the State Department’s budget which helps support democracy, including election monitors. Congress is right to resist such cuts.(读者试译) Fair elections make Africa more stable. Giving up on them spreads anger and poison around the world.

　　国会拒绝这样的要求是正确的。公平的选举保证了非洲的平稳。放弃他们就等于在全世界散布愤怒和毒药。

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