"My friends, a future of liberty stands before you. It is your right. It is your dream. And it is your destiny." These were the words of President Bush as he spoke about his goals for democracy in the Middle East, but with civil unrest pervading the region, the realization of those goals is very much in question. In a region with such a complex history and unique traditions, can democracy ever truly thrive?
University of Haifa
For all of the following reasons: Political, social, cultural, and regime-performance, Arab-Islamic Middle East and democracy are totally incompatible. It took Europe 500 years to become liberal and democratic, and it will take much longer for the Middle East. Democracy will not bring peace, and peace will not enhance democracy.
There are three kinds of distinctive political regimes: The totalitarian; the authoritarian; and democracy. Although there are many kinds of democracy, it is distinctively different from authoritarian and totalitarian. Democracy is characterized by the following dimensions: a) Individual freedoms and civil liberties; b) The rule of the law is above all; c) Sovereignty and citizenship empowered by the people; d) The absolute equality of all citizens before the law; e) Vertical and horizontal accountability of ruling system; f) Responsiveness, eligibility, and transparency of ruling systems; g) Mobility, political participation, and equality of opportunity.
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