Democracy in the Middle East

Democracy in the Middle East is considered by many to be rarer than in other parts of the world, but this is disputed by many governments in the region, many of whom claim to be democratic. Proposed reasons for the relative lack of democracy in the Middle East are diverse, from the resource curse of inexpensive oil and gas reserves to interfering foreign involvement from the U.S. and others. This article traces the history and assesses the current state and future prospects of democracy, democratic tendencies, and democratic movements in all countries in the broadly-defined Middle East region.

Contents

1 History 2 Current state 2.1 Arab Socialism 2.2 Absolute monarchy 2.3 Constitutional monarchy 2.4 Islamism 2.5 Israel/Palestine 3 Secularism 4 Western intervention 5 External links

History

The concept of democracy was little-favored in the ancient Middle East, as indeed in most of the world. However, some have seen the Islamic concept of shura as an early form of popular representation, and in some areas of North Africa the traditional Berber system of self-government has been seen by some as approximating to democracy at a village level.

Current state

The level of democracy varies widely from country to country. A few countries, such as Saudi Arabia, do not claim to be democracies; however, most of the larger states claim to be democracies, although this claim is in most cases disputed.

Arab Socialism

A number of republics embracing Arab Socialism, such as Syria and Egypt, regularly hold elections, but critics assert that these are single-party states or unfair dominant-party systems and not full multi-party systems. Yemen, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, while also partly accepting this ideology, are generally considered more democratic than other states that do so, but the power of institutions in the latter two are limited by the domination of Syria and Israel, respectively.

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is more common in the Middle East than elsewhere, and even a number of kingdoms with parliaments have been claimed to fall broadly under this category. Saudi Arabia and most other kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula are usually considered absolute monarchies.

Constitutional monarchy

Constitutional monarchy can be said to be at least partly embraced in some countries that are generally considered more democratic. Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain are examples of this category.

Islamism

Islamism in Iran following the Iranian Revolution of 1979 has produced an electoral system that is limited by the vetoing power of religious leaders. In other countries, the ideology (usually out of power) has fostered both pro-democratic and anti-democratic sentiments. The Justice and Development Party is a moderate democratic Islamist party that has come to power in traditionally secular Turkey. Its moderate ideology has been compared to Christian Democracy in Europe. The United Iraqi Alliance, the winner of the recent elections in Iraq, is a coalition including many religious parties. Al-Qaeda and its allies, however, are deeply anti-democratic Islamists, believing that since sharia represents God's law, there is no place for law made by men.

Israel/Palestine

Israel is usually considered to be a democracy within its 1948 borders, but not in its administration of the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authority, which exercises only limited sovereignty, has generally been considered to be more open than most Arab governments, particularly in light of the most recent presidential election.

Secularism

Secularism in the region was pioneered by Kemal Atatürk, who, though he himself had some authoritarian tendencies, helped establish the first modern Middle Eastern democracy in Turkey. Arab Socialism has also fostered secularism, though sometimes in what has been seen as a less democratic context. Secularism is not the same as freedom of religion, and secular governments have at times denied the rights of Islamists and other religious parties. A trend of a more liberal secularism supporting broader freedom of religion has developed recently in Turkey, while some Arab Socialist states have moved away from secularism to some extent, increasingly embracing religion, though many say without really increasing the rights of religious parties.

Western intervention

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, many of the empire's former territories fell under the rule of European countries under League of Nations mandates. Thus, European powers were instrumental in establishing the first independent governments that emerged out of the Ottoman Empire. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for allies in the region and the U.S. has been accused of supporting dictatorships contrary to its stated democratic principles. The U.S., with some allies, has in recent years invaded Afghanistan and Iraq with a partially stated purpose of establishing democracies there, to the opposition of those who say that democracy cannot be imposed from outside. The two countries have since had relatively successful elections, but have also experienced serious security and development problems.

External links

• Democracy in Yemen