The Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East A Critic of Larry Diamondâs Spirit of Democracy in the context of the Middle East
M.Cuneyt Ozsahin, Cristopher Westergen, Faiza Rais | Reflection Cafe* http://www.reflectioncafe.net/2008/06/prospects-for-democracy-in-middle-east.html Simply, this critique attempts to assess the validity of Larry Diamondâs argumentation for the Middle East in his best-seller book. Of all the regions of the world, the Middle East stands as exceptionally inhospitable to democratic reforms. Larry Diamondâs analysis of this region in his book The Spirit of Democracy is incredibly pessimistic about the regions potential for change.[1] After decades of monarchical and strong presidential authoritarian rule many countries appeared to make limited reforms in the late 1990âs only to see them reversed at the turn of the millennium. Diamondâs analysis of the Middle East region and democracy touches upon a fundamental question: how should the question of democracy in the Middle East be analyzed? After a reading of Diamondâs writing this emerges as a question in itself. Diamondâs chapter begins from a moment in the Middle East where political change in the direction of democracy appears imminent but moves to a point where he concludes, âFor the time being the moment of democratic reform in the Arab world has passed.â[2] These two points can be described as being pivotal in the understanding of democracy in the Middle East and trace the nature of its existence, however sparse there. For example, recent findings (2008) from Freedom House reveal a similar path: âThe period of modest gains that had marked the regionâs political landscape in the post-9/11 period came to an end in 2007 with freedom experiencing a decline in a number of important countries and territories.â[3] It would be apposite to infer that these two points frame Diamondâs analysis on the question of democracy in the Middle East. The bulk of Diamondâs analysis flows from the conclusion or rather observation that democracy has yet again to develop as a prospect in the Middle East. In general, patterns do not appear to have changed much in the Middle East so far. In many respects, Diamondâs depiction keeps its validity. In Syria, a referendum in 2007 endorsed Bashar al-assad as the president for a second seven-year term. He was the only candidate. Political discussion, let alone organized opposition, was restricted and the media tightly controlled[4]. In Egypt, the strongest opposition organization which has broad public support, the Muslim Brotherhood, is still banned from open political activity and under suppression[5]. In Jordan, King Abdullah, the monarch, is still exercising extensive powers; he appoints governments, approves legislation and is able to dissolve parliament[6]. Violence in Palestine is going on in full force. The political atmosphere is not so different for other countries of the region. The only notable change occurred in Egypt. The Democratic Front Party is an Egyptian political party established in 2007. It adopts liberal ideologies. It espouses the motto Freedom, Justice, Responsibility. The party was founded by Dr. Osama AL Ghazali Harb, a former member of the National Democratic Party (The ruling party in Egypt for over 30 years) , and Dr. Yehia El Gamal, a former cabinet minister[7].The success or failure of Democratic Front seems to be hard to estimate right now. Diamond discovers two obstacles obstructing the growth of democracy in the region: ethnic and religious fractionalization and fundamental Islam. These two factors were alleged as pretenses to rebuff and dampen public demands and justify authoritarian governments.[8] . The Middle East as a region is so intertwined that individual affairs might affect other counties in the region to a great extent. It is helpful to consider a diffusion affect of particular conflicts among different parties that not only runs the risk of threatening these parties but also overall security of the region. In this regard, conflict between Palestine and Israel is still a central problem in the region. Sadly, the magnitude of conflict between two sides has increased rather than decreased over time. The Palestinian Authority experienced a change in status, from partly free to not free, due to âthe collapse of a unified government initiated by the takeover of Gaza by Hamasâ and subsequent events leading to vast amount of violence across the region[9]. Today, there is a two-headed government, and authority is shared by two parties, Hamas and Fatah, standing on the opposite edges in the political spectrum. While Hamas is a religiously oriented and belligerent party, Fatah is a secular and conciliatory.[10] As Larry Diamond, appropriately points out, resolution of the conflict is crucial to bring the peace to the region. A number of fundamentalist organizations, including Al-Qaeda, exploit the Palestinian problem, which is framed as a sacred struggle due to holy places located in Jerusalem, and occupies place in the collective memory of Arab society, in order to take support of the Arab society. One of the adjacent countries, Lebanon is also divided between pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian forces. The 2006 Lebanon War, which Diamond did not include in his analysis, is also started with the fundamentalist organization Hezbollahâs attacks on Israeli territory. Following that, three Israeli soldiers were arrested and taken to Lebanon. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in Lebanon, which damaged Lebanese civilian infrastructure.[11] The overall result was dramatic; the conflict killed more than a thousand people, most of whom were Lebanese civilians. It is a fact that deeply rooted hatred between two different sides-Israeli and Palestinian- seems to have spread across the Arab world. If Islamic extremism is fueled by this conflict, the prospects of such dangerous fanaticism disappearing in the near future seem quite unlikely. To read the full text, please visit: http://www.reflectioncafe.net/2008/06/prospects-for-democracy-in-middle-east.html *The Reflection Cafe thanks to the authors for their contribution!
