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DEMOCRACY IN MENA
1. Larry Diamonds Why Are There No Democracies in the Arab World
-Causes democracy deficit in the Middle East
-Most Common Assumption is that it has to do with Religion and Culture
-Though neither religion nor culture offers a convincing explanation for the Arab Democracy Deficit
- Author believes it is the perverse sociopolitical effects of being so awash in petrochemical deposits
(The Oil Curse)
-Religion and Culture, Arab views on democracy
-Some Arab populations simply do not like democracy because they do not like the idea of selfgovernment. Though there are Arabs that do support democracy and it does not vary by religiosity.
- Jamal and Tessler conclude that Arabs actually value democracy, even if their concern for stability
leads them to want it to come only gradually, and that religious politics nor personal religiosity do not pose a
major obstacle.
-Economic Development and Social Structure: democracy & rentier states
- Arab countries are quite economically well to do to gain and keep democracy so that isnt the issue
-If economic level is not the problem, it is the economic structure where rentier states depend on oil
and gas to keep their states afloat
-Since the Oil Revenue is so large it increases the power of the state bureaucracy, and also reduces the
need for taxation. Since there is little to no taxation, it gives a less of a reason for publics to demand
representation.
-Authoritarian Statecraft,& the mukhabarat
-Mukhabarat- is the secret police and intelligence apparatus which represses the Arab people, not
allowing them to have a voice or go against the authority of the state.
- political oppositions in the Arab world become divided, suspicious, and torn from within due to the
rule of the authoritarians.
-The Coils of Geopolitics, foreign aid for Arab regimes
-For Non-Oil Regimes, foreign aid is like oil which is another source of rents that regimes use for
survival. Like oil, aid flows into the central coffers of the state and helps to give it the means both to coop and
to repress.
-Western aid makes possible the regimes key political strategy of spending massively on public jobs
without imposing steep taxes.
2. The Economists Back to the Ottomans
-democracys survival in Turkey and the military
-Turkey has many secularist laws such as the no wearing a head scarf when teaching at a university
- offers the greatest hope for democracy in a Arab state
- Its courts are secular, and its religion is run by a government department known as the Diyanet.
-debate over Islam and democracy
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- Where can we draw the line between religion and the modern state?
-Islam is stuck in a clash of civilizations with the west. Islam stands out as the religion the brooks the
least difference between church and state.
- In some Arab states the Sharia is so strictly interpreted that Muslim woman cant technically live
modern lives.
--the Justice and Development Party priorities since 2002
- When the (AK) people joked like it was electing the Taliban. Under Erdogan the AK party has
occasionally veered off target, but have freed up the markets and stomped out corruption.
-Wants to modernize the constitution, get rid of the headscarf ban and equality between sexes.
-New depth to an old split,
-There are two main important arguments about Islam. The doctrinal split between Sunnis and Shias and
how much Islam should adapt to the world.
- Both Saudi Money and Wahhabis believe that nothing of much value has happened to Islam since the
first couple generations of Islam. Wahhabi fought against the worship of tombs and relics and now his followers
fight against television and western clothes.
- Islam cant react to new circumstances in the world. The Koran was given to Nomadic Tribes
-Martyrs believe that the fail in Muslim countries have been due to the moral dissoluteness and
Secularism. (Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood)
- the Traitors who came up due to the western might and oil money simply believe that Islam is
incompatible with democracy.
3. Geneive Abdo, Islam is Compatible with Democracy
-The fading appeal of militant Islam
Militant Islam has lost its luster and is now being replaced by quietest movements aiming to address the
social, religious needs of Islamic societies.
-the appeal of moderate Islam
-Many Muslims want a government that is Islamic but one in which people has ultimate say in matters
of state.
- Young people want more flexibility in Islam and a new reading of the faith that would be more relevant
to modern times.
-Muslim views on separation of mosque and state
- In the earlier years leaders such as Khomeini believed that the leader (velayat) had power from g-d and
that it shouldnt be challenged by the people. Back then there wasnt really a separation between church and
state.
- In Iran Today there is a public outcry for more democracy and less interference by the clerics in
politics.
4. Sajjad Khan, Islam is Superior to Western Democracy
-Advantages of Islam over democracy
- Western Democratic values are inferior to the political values prescribed by Islam.
- 1.Western politicians judge actions they do in this world according to their own criteria usually to
pursuit the material benefit (Islam has life after Death, so the leaders can be accountable for their actions)
-2. The analysis of whom the western politicians really serve. They serve the big corporations not the
people
-3. Its not simply the politicians that are involved but it is the entire spectrum.
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-4. Corruption is made easier in capitalist societies because not all people follow politics or adhere to
their rules.
-Why Politics is Inseparable from Islam?
-Politics is inherent within the Islamic ideology that it came to solve all problems and came to address
the peoples affairs. The Imam is in charge and he is responsible for his citizens (Koran).
-Islamic Ideology cant co-exist alongside other ideologies such as communism or capitalism within the
same society.
-Fallacies on Islam & democracy
-The idea that democracy is modern and Islam backward is incorrect. Islamic civilization carried the
banner of human progress and development to unprecedented levels.
- Progress in Europe did leap from the Greeks and Romans to the enlightenment. This Jump in history
misses years of Islamic rule in Spain.
-Democracy is applicable in all places and cultures. It is rather not and the rise of Western Europe had a
lot to do with military colonialism and imperialism.
ISLAM & DEMOCRACY
1- Eric Davis Reflections on Religion and Politics in Post- Bathist Iraq (2007
-relationship between politics & religion
- While a particular religion may require the believer to defend the religion in the event of an external
threat, politics per se is not a condition of membership in any faith.
-When religion intersects with politics, the outcome need not necessarily entail hostility to members of
other faiths.
-Politicization of religion in a xenophobic manner not only entails a deviation from orthodox
interpretations of religion but is usually characterized by a lack of knowledge on the part of those who
formulate radical and intolerant agendas.
2. Kurzman & Naqvi, Do Muslims Vote Islamic?
-Would Islamist parties win free elections?
- If elections were free Islamist parties would not win. As the years go on, less people vote for these
parties. Islamic Parties do worse in free elections rather than less free ones.
3. Shadi Hamid, Arab Islamist Parties: Losing on Purpose?
-If Islamist Groups really chose to win they could win every election but they choose not too.
-is Kurzman & Naqvis argument correct?
-Kurzman and Naqvi wrote that the electoral performance of Islamic Parties have generally been
unimpressive. And that western powers should let go of their paranoia about Islamists
- Winning is not what the Islamists want, so this argument that western powers should let go of their
paranoia about Islamists is wrong.
-Why dont Islamists try and win all elections?
-Islamists limit their gains because doing too well might invite the wrath of incumbent regimes.
-They dont need to rule in order to fulfill their original objective.
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-Islamist groups privilege self-preservation over political contestation.

4. Elaine Ganley, France Moves Closer to Banning Full Muslim Veil
-impact of French policies on Islamic women
- France doesnt want to give a woman citizenship if she covers her whole body up and especially the
face.
- France believes the Muslim garb is viewed as a gate way to radical Islam an attack on gender equality
and other French values
-A woman wearing something that covers up her face will be subject to a fine.
-Western Europe and growing Islamic influence
- Europes growing Muslim population has bred tension across the continent. Some non-Muslims sense a
threat by a foreign culture to their way of life.
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK IN MENA
1- 2002 United Nations Arab Human Development Report
-Globalization & the Middle East
-Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and
governments of different nations. It has posed a risk for Arab Nations who are left behind.
- The expansion of illegal settlements, the frequent use of excessive force against Palestinians and their
denial of human rights limit their potential to build human development.
-Political Upheavals, military conflicts, sanctions, and embargoes have caused decline in productivity
and have disrupted markets.
- More than Half of Arab Woman is Illiterate and about 65 million of Adult Arab Are Illiterate. Arab
Access to new technology is very limited
- Human development is linked to Human Rights, and since Arabs rarely have any human rights it
restricts them to be developed like all the other nations in the world.
2- Adeed Dawisha Iraq: A Vote against Sectarianism (2010)
-why is democracy succeeding in Iraq
-Sectarianism- discrimination or hatred of other groups due to their differences, (Ex: Sunnis against
Shiites),
- Arab people dont have much of a conflict with Arabs in different groups
- Although many of the Iraqi parties are organized around religious or ethnic lines. The tone and results
of the 2010 parliamentary election campaign show that most Iraqi voters prefer a broader national agenda over
narrow sectarian appeals. Arab people are voting whats best for their nation as a whole than whats best for
their certain group.
-The Security Forces in Action: Iraq military assault in 2008
-Maliki was the Prime Minister of Iraq and was considered a Shia
-Mahdi Army was formed by Moqtada Al Sadr, This Army was the biggest challenge to the state
authority
-In late 2008, Iraqi security forces launched a massive assault on the Mahdi Army in Basra. With the
U.S. and Britishs help, they were able to put back the city to normalcy.

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- This led to great political effects, Tensions in the National Assembly eased, and Sunni politicians
became lifted of him because of his move against the Shiite Militia. (Maliki is a Shiite and went against his
fellow Shiites (The Mahdi Army) for the Sake of the Nation.
-The Political Campaign, 2010 election issues
- New open list innovation where the voter actually chooses the person they want rather than the party
they want. In older elections the parties would choose who would represent them in parliament
- The (CAJ) suddenly announced that it was disqualifying more than 500 candidates for having Baathist
ties. This banning stirred a lot of criticism but at the end only 26 of the candidates were free of this ban.
- Two issues dominated the campaign, corruption and lack of services, it was basically all the other
candidates against Maliki.
- At the most basic level the 2010 election was free and fair, even though of the number of complaints
which were later dismissed.
- The campaign had no sign of federalism, the occupation, or religion.
3. Scott Wordens Afghanistan: An Election Gone Awry
-why is democracy not taking root in Afghanistan
- many cases of fraud and corruption which include a flawed voter registration process, corrupt polling
staff, biased government officials, and lack of accountability on the part of the candidates and the IEC.
-Many of the notorious warlords were allowed to still run for office because even though they were
known they were never convicted for their crimes. This made many Afghans skeptical about the election and
thought that the elections wont result in a positive change.
-No national security, so many armed men intimidated poll workers and committed fraud for their
particular candidate.
- There is a lack of credible government institutions and the rule of law.
4. Quintan Wiktorowiczs Civil Society as Social Control by the State: Power in Jordan
-Not On Email????????
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK IN TUNISIA
1. John Enteliss The Unchanging Politics of North Africa
-main challenges facing the Maghreb
- The rule of law is virtually nonexistent, separation of powers is a fantasy, pluralistic politics is fake, competitive
elections are severely constrained, and individual liberties are continuously under threat of usurpation, compromise or
elimination.

-Civil Society Rising? and role of civil society

-Civil society is defined as individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the
government
- Tunisia is a one-party state governed by an unaccountable autocrat. et for many if not most ordinary
Tunisians, the absence of genuine democracy seems acceptable as long as political stability is maintained and
socioeconomic development sustained.
- While the regime has demonstrated a keen ability to sustain its authoritarian stranglehold on Tunisia
these many years, an increasingly restless and reanimated civil society is beginning to emerge.

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- The regime's own efforts in advancing the economy and promoting universal education, progressive
social policies, and gender equality have aroused the political consciousness of a cross-generation of Tunisians
who are now at the doorstep of democratic opportunity and insisting on being allowed in.
-Tunisias robust authoritarianism
-Ben Ali put in reforms to allow him to run for another term of presidency
- He increased the powers of the constitutional council who are actually appointed by the president
- These Reforms have further entrenched Ben Ali in power for the next decade or so and delayed
meaningful political progress.
- Ben Ali bears the most responsibility for preventing potential successors from emerging and for
delaying the creation of a more pluralistic, if not democratic, process in Tunisia.
- The State-Society Nexus, and Islamic fundamentalism
- State-society relations in Tunisia are riddled with tensions and discontinuities.
-At First Ben Ali Launched corrective measures to point to greater democracy, though>
- Human-rights activists are particular targets of government repression, but so are members of banned Islamist
or militant left-wing parties,
- Publishers and journalists are regularly detained and pursued in the courts, while publications that criticize the
regime, including foreign newspapers, are seized

-The Centralized Polity, and rival parties

-The RCD has been revitalized into the country's dominant political organization. The party holds 152 of
the 189 seats in parliament and 4,098 of 4,366 seats on local councils.
- There are seven legal opposition political parties, but all are ineffectual as they lack a popular base and
are riddled with factionalism and internal dissent. The largest of these opposition parties is the MDS (Movement
of Social Democrats), a left-of-center party that was formed during the Bourguiba era but that has undergone
splits over the issue of whether to oppose or support Ben Ali.
- Under the constitution, candidates for the presidency must have the backing of at least 30 members of
parliament, yet no legal opposition has had anything near this number.
2. In the International Crisis Groups Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East:
Tunisias Way,
-will Tunisias transition to democracy succeed?
-The democratic transition has the greatest amount of success because of the countrys history of
political activism and social mobilization.
-the ingredients for the uprising in Tunisia
-vast expanses of the country have been systematically neglected by the regime
-the unemployment rate was climbing
- Bouazizis suicide was the straw that broke the camels back
Violence perpetrated against the protestors helped forge a link between socioeconomic and political
demands.
-political Islam & lessons from Tunisias transition to democracy
-If Ben Ali and his successors had a flexibility and willingness to shift course in response to public
demands they would have been able to avoid a major political crisis.
3. Solomon and Amara, Union, Rather than Army, may be Tunisia Oppositions Decisive Ally
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-why is Tunisia reacting differently than Egypt to the Arab Spring?

-Whereas in Egypt military power decided the Islamist governments fate, in Tunisia the economic
muscle of 600000 member union may prove decisive - just one day of strikes costs the country hundreds of
millions of dollars
-It is a force capable of influencing the street and its leaders can topple the government. It can play the
role that the Tunisian army cant- role of Unions
-UGTT represents workers across the country in both state and private sectors
- Interior ministry of Tunis is a mess of divisions who can only decide whether or not to suppress
protests
- Union influence has forceful hand in country suffering from economic stagnation
-Historically, the unions have organized against French colonial authorities before
4. Shraedar and Redissi, Ben Alis Fall
- Why does he fall from power?
- Socioeconomic stress
- intensifying authoritarianism of Ben Alis regime
-public disenchantment with growing corruption of presidents extended family
-spontaneous and secular uprising, driven by Tunisians using social media such as
Facebook and Twitter, had revealed a civil society intent on securing Arabs first democracy
- Mukhabarat state: neopatrimonial form of governance that exalted Alis personal rule
-faced largest antigovernment demonstration Tunis had ever seen, and fled
MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK IN EGYPT
1. The Brotherhood of Terror: (film)
-the Muslim Brotherhood history & tactics
-founded by Hassan Al Banna in 1928
-promoted traditional Islamic sharia law and opposed the social injustice of the British imperial rule.
-initially focused on educational and charitable work but quickly grew to become a major political force
as well
- Recruited men at mosques
-why does it emerge and survive?
- It dominated the professional and student associations of Egypt and was famous for its network of
social services in neighborhoods and villages.
-Grew rapidly post World War 2, because it expanded its social welfare activities, set up hospitals,
clinics and pharmacies; offered school for boy and girls, and small factories to help remedy post-war
unemployment.
- Helped out people more than the Egyptian government
2. Hassan al-Banna, Overcome Western Imperialism
-why is Egypt under a corrupt & repressive regime; European materialism
-Muslim Brotherhood goals
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-initially aimed to get rid of British imperial rule

-wanted all Islamic fatherland to be free of all foreign domination
-For a free Islamic state to rise acting accordingly to the precepts of Islam. As long as this is not created
the Islamic people are committing sin against god.
- wanted to get rid of the corruption and uncomforting situation in Egypt (reform of education, war on
poverty, disease and crime; and to create a society in association with the Islamic sacred law.
3. Inside the Muslim Brotherhood (film)
-what message does the Muslim Brotherhood try and send to the world before the 2011elections?
-It seeks to create an Egypt based on strict Islamic Law
4. According to Dan Murphys Egypt Vote Shows Unease with Democracy
-9/11/2001 & US support for democracy in Egypt
-Egypt has promised to open up its political system and has done with a series of constitutional
amendments that have changed the countrys constitutional law. But to critics these changes have just amounted
to put a more democratic face on a process that still ensures that no one but the NDP holds power.
-The US has also turned down it democracy rhetoric lately out of concern that free elections will
empower Islamists that are hostile to the US and replace friendly, if undemocratic, regimes.
-Results of the 2007 Egyptian Shura Council elections
-800 of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested
-there was a massive police presence at most of the polling stations which only allowed NDP supporters
near the polls
- The NDP Party Won
-consequences of attacks for Mubarak
- led to a decline of Mubarak Supporters
5. Tarek Masoud, The Road to (and from) Liberation Square
-how will democracy survive in Egypt
- 1st Egypt must put military affairs out of any new parliament.
-2nd Egypts economy must not be put into the hands of the military.
- 3rd Egypt must make peace with its surrounding and must revisit the terms of the ( camp david
accords)
-relations between economic development and democracy
- If Egypts democracy is stable democracy would most likely prevail
- Egypt must deal with its unemployment rate
6. David Ignatius What Happens When the Arab Spring Turns Summer?
-tipping points & catastrophe theory to explain the current Arab revolutions
Case study on how complex systems fall. Where a small event can disturb the equilibrium and produce a
very large change of outcome.
-The tipping event was when Bouzazi lit himself on fire because of what the police officers did to him.
(Tunasia)
-In Egypt one small protest (Tahrir Square Protest) led to larger ones and Mubarak left the region.
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-concept of shame
-Nora Boustany-the artery of shame has ruptured
- There was a shamed and broken political culture- a culture of passivity and resignation, which often
expressed itself in negative and self-destructive acts of political violence and accepted authoritarian
governments and the slogans they use to justify themselves.
- Now Arabs are embracing a culture of activism and self determination
-Crane Brintons Anatomy of Revolution applied to Middle East
-Revolutions are born of hope, not poverty and despair
-Compares the Muslim Brotherhood to the Jacobins or the Leninists (these groups tend to win because
they are better staffed, better obeyed, and better organized.
-reading history reminds us that a revolutionary change is a volatile and sometimes toxic process that
confounds expectations
(What's discouraging, as you look back through this history, is what Crane Brinton famously called the
"Anatomy of Revolution." book should be on every reading list this spring, but if you haven't looked at it
recently, here's a brief summary:
Brinton noted that revolutions are born of hope, not poverty and despair. Their life arc moves from the uprising
that displaces the old regime to a "honeymoon" in which a legal, moderate government tries to rule, even as an
illegal, radical movement gains strength. The radical movement -- the Jacobins, if you will, or the Leninists or
(in our darkest imagining of the future) the Muslim Brotherhood -- tend to win because, in Brinton's words, they
are "better organized, better staffed, better obeyed."
The radicals' triumph brings on a period of fanatical activism, with purges and revenge attacks -- and a growing
"reign of terror." Eventually the public demands order and the street radicals are put down by a reaction that
Brinton likened to the Thermidorian Reaction in France in 1794. With order comes a new dictator who
presumes to speak for the people -- a Napoleon or Stalin or Khomeini.
Reading history reminds us that revolutionary change is a volatile and sometimes toxic process that confounds
expectations.)
-avoiding fate of past failed revolutions
-The success of the democratic revolutions is absolutely in the interest of the United States. The U.S
must provide financial assistance and a democratic police and security service.
- If the democratic experiment gets hijacked by the military or anti-democratic Islamic groups than the
revolution will fail.