Arabs and Democracy: A Record of Failure

Issue Date July 2000
Volume 11
Issue 3
Page Numbers 58-68
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Democracy is spreading everywhere except in the Arab world. Arab elections are an immense masquerade. Corrupt dictatorships seek to stifle freedom of thought and to control the flow of information.

Further Reading

Volume 13, Issue 4

Democratization in the Arab World?: Stirrings in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia would seem to exemplify full-blown authoritarianism. Yet there are trends pushing the country toward more open politics.

Volume 11, Issue 3

Arabs and Democracy: Illusions of Change

Many observers regarded 1999 as a year of progress for democracy in the Arab world. There is reason to doubt, however, whether any meaningful change has really occurred.

Volume 13, Issue 3

Middle East Studies After 9/11: Time for an Audit

Talk about the Middle East and those who study it has become understandably heated. But we can learn more through a calm assessment of the achievements and weaknesses of this…