Political Geography: Arabia / Topic: Democratization

Author:: Marina Ottaway
Publication Date:: 03-2003
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: Since early last year, the Bush administration has paid unaccustomed attention to the issue of democracy in the Middle East. Following September 11, many U. S. officials have worried that the authoritarianism of most Arab regimes has bred frustration in their countries, and this frustration has in turn favored the growth of terrorist organizations. U.S. discussions about the need for democracy in the Middle East have triggered a strong negative reaction by Arab commentators and journalists, including in discussions of democracy in the Arab press. However, very little of this writing has dealt with the problem of democracy in the real sense—that is, with the issue of how Arab governments relate to their citizens now and how they should relate to their citizens in the future. Instead, Arab commentators have treated democracy as a foreign policy issue, asking why the United States is suddenly discussing democracy in the Arab world and what true intentions it is trying to hide behind the smoke screen of democracy talk. The debate in the Arab press reveals some of the obstacles that the United States faces as it attempts to define its new pro-democracy role in the Middle East.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Democratization
Political Geography:: United States, Middle East, and Arabia

Publication Date:: 05-2003
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Public International Law Policy Group
Abstract:: As the situation in Iraq continues to stabilize, the people of Iraq will turn to the task of reconstituting an Iraqi state. One of the first steps in this process will be to design, agree upon, and implement a new constitutional structure. While drafting a new constitution is a difficult and contentious process for any country, the challenges are substantially magnified for Iraq given its complex mosaic of ethnic and religious identities, the history of repression under Saddam Hussein, the necessary presence of American forces, and Iraq's complex relations with its neighboring states.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and War
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

Author:: Richard Perle
Publication Date:: 08-2003
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: The war in Iraq has demonstrated the significance of strong, decisive government leadership, bold military tactics coupled with advanced technology, and the possibility of spreading freedom and democracy throughout the Arab world.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

Publication Date:: 10-2003
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Navigating the treacherous shoals of the Iraq conflict with a steady hand, Jordan appears to have emerged unscathed from the turbulent months just past. The Hashemite Kingdom adjusted its rhetoric to fit the public mood while backing U.S. policy in Iraq and in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, managed to overcome its principal weaknesses and now faces the post-war world with renewed confidence and authority.
Topic:: Democratization, Demographics, Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Jordan

Publication Date:: 06-2003
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Eight weeks after victoriously entering Baghdad, American forces are in a race against the clock. If they are unable to restore both personal security and public services and establish a better rapport with Iraqis before the blistering heat of summer sets in, there is a genuine risk that serious trouble will break out. That would make it difficult for genuine political reforms to take hold, and the political liberation from the Saddam Hussein dictatorship would then become for a majority of the country's citizens a true foreign occupation. With all eyes in the Middle East focused on Iraq, the coming weeks and months will be critical for shaping regional perceptions of the U.S. as well.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, Baghdad, Arabia, and Arab Countries

Author:: Richard Youngs
Publication Date:: 11-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:: Democracy should be conceived as an important element of European strategic policy towards North Africa and the Middle East, but the complex prerequisites to its stability- enhancing potentiality also recognised. While EU policy has come to incorporate such a perspective, its approach to democracy promotion in the Arab-Muslim world has remained tentative and nebulous in its conceptualisation of how stable and sustainable political change can best be encouraged. A summary of European democracy and human rights aid projects reveals the notable extent to which these have expanded, but also raises concerns over imbalances in the profile of EU political aid. In sum, this calls for a number of changes to EU policy that broaden the understanding of how different levels of policy instruments can dovetail together in a more comprehensive and sophisticated approach to democracy promotion.
Topic:: Democratization
Political Geography:: Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

Author:: Abdelwahab El-Affendi
Publication Date:: 01-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster
Abstract:: Sudan – Africa's largest country (area: 2.5 million square kilometres; population: 36 million) – has been described as a microcosm of the continent, as it embodies the continent's characteristic ethnic and religious diversity. The majority of its inhabitants (70 per cent) are Muslim. The rest adhere to traditional African beliefs (25 per cent) or various Christian denominations (5 per cent). The majority of Muslims are Arabic speaking (though not all are ethnically Arab), and Arabic is both the official language and the lingua franca. However, over 500 ethnic groups live in Sudan, and some 75 languages are spoken in the country. The bulk of the Arabic-speaking Muslims live in the north, while the south is inhabited by a predominantly non-Arab and non-Muslim population.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Democratization, and Religion
Political Geography:: Sudan, Middle East, and Arabia

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