[uCantCauseUCant]

Ah empires primary tool is its army. And a army can be ordered around comfortable, without any resistance but those of supply physics.

Is it really that miraculous, that politicians and secret services expect the same behaviour and control interfaces from the puppets they install? They go for what they know and what they know results into always the same outcome. If they do not obey there masters, they crackt he financial whip.

Imagine, if the afghans voted for swiss style direct-democracy, with every Kanton a small country. No control interface, but - oh sweet irony, a government model proofen to work in a mountainous region, famous for its mercenaries throughout Europe.

PS: Swiss had the last county to ratify womans voting rights in the 1990s, what is it with mountains that makes some men go macho.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Switzerl...

[donpott]

> what is it with mountains that makes some men go macho..

I remember reading a hypothesis on this phenomenon in Steven Pinker's "The better angels of our nature". If memory serves, it was because mountain societies, like that of the appalachians, tended to be naturally more honor-based. So keeping one's family's reputation was very important. This resulted in more conservative societies.

I'm definitely not making justice to the argument, but I found it interesting. Can recommend the book for a delve on this.