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The Roadblock to Arab Democracy

[Moment] Joshua Muravchik - - The fact that nearly two-thirds of all countries in the world today elect their leaders bespeaks a revolutionary change in the norms of government over the past 30 years. And it puts the Arab lag into stark relief. Out of 171 non-Arab states in the world, the number of democracies is 123, or 72%. Of the 22 Arab states, the number of democracies is zero, according to data compiled by Freedom House. Of the 47 states in the world with Muslim majorities, nine or 19%, are democracies. On the other hand, of 146 non-Muslim states, 114, more than 3/4, are democratic. Yet, even if Islam discourages democracy, it does not pose an absolute barrier. Of the 25 non-Arab states with Muslim majorities, including Indonesia and Malaysia, more than 1/3 (nine) have democratically elected governments. I believe the 60-year Arab obsession with Israel is the key factor blocking the political development of Arab states. We can see this in the bold assertions of Arab dictators who say that they cannot liberalize now because their countries must be strong in the face of the Zionist enemy. But we can also see it among reformers. In 2005, the Egyptian Movement for Change, or Kifaya, emerged in Egypt. Aside from demanding an end to Mubarak's rule, Kifaya sought to reverse Egypt's largely constructive relationships with Israel and the U.S. The political energies of the Arab world have been siphoned into the endless quest for redress of the great humiliation of Jewish sovereignty in the heart of the Arab region. This obsession has cost the Jews a lot. It has cost the Arabs even more. The writer is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
2007-09-28 01:00:00
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