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.
About the Authors
Mohamed Talbi
Mohamed Talbi is a Tunisian historian who has authored a number of books and articles on the history of the Maghreb. His more recent publications, which have focused on issues related to Islam, include Iyal Allah (God’s family), published in French translation in 1996 as Plaidoyer pour un Islam moderne.
Politics in the Arab Middle East is often a matter of powerholders first liberalizing — and then "deliberalizing" — public life in order to first maintain their rule. But this…
About two-thirds of the world's Muslims live under governments chosen through competitive elections. The remaining third lives mostly in the Arab world, a region that poses the hardest challenges for…
