Historians like to say that "history doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes." That would explain the feeling of familiarity that many experienced throughout 2008. While there was one truly unprecedented event — the election of Mr. Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States — there was also an odd sense of deja vu throughout the year. All too often, we had a vague feeling of having experienced these things before — and sadly, once would have been more than enough.
In Japan, the political class was again ineffectual in the face of mounting challenges. As prime ministers came and went with alarming regularity, it felt like a return to the "karaoke politics" of the past. As in the beginning and end of the 1990s, Cabinets operated with revolving doors, in which ministers would surface, take a quick turn as head of a ministry and then depart, too often ignominiously. In contrast to the fleeting presence of those politicians, Japan's problems remained and grew to alarming proportions. The year ahead promises little better.
Russia, too, seemed to be reliving its past as the Putin era entered its second phase. In early 2008, then President Vladimir Putin handed over the presidency to Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, his handpicked protege, who promptly named his benefactor his prime minister and gave him, so it seems, much of the powers of the head of state. Rumors abound that Mr. Putin will engineer a constitutional revision that will allow him to return to the presidency for an even longer term. His rule has been characterized by the steady concentration of power in the hands of the Moscow government and the security services. That process has been accompanied by the undermining of the rule of law and democracy. This heavy-handed approach to domestic dissent and Russia's muscular and assertive foreign policy are reminiscent of the Soviet years, if not the age of the czars. It is a worrisome development, and one even more notable for the popular support Mr. Putin enjoys.