Doha Debates Choose Democratic Reform over Economic Liberalization
November 12th, 2010 by Anna
At a recent round of the Doha Debates – a monthly, televised event in which panelists debate a controversial issue before an audience drawn primarily from Qatar’s student body – 63% of audience members said that democratic reform should take precedence over economic liberalization. Although it was not a scientific poll, the vote “offer[ed] a clear rejection of the philosophy of the region’s so-called moderate Arab states, where economic incentives are offered in place of meaningful political reform,” the Los Angeles Times‘ Meris Lutz reported. One of the panelists debating the topic, Georgetown University academic Jean-Francois Seznec, argued that immediate democratization might lead to Islamist rule, which could mean more restrictions on freedom of speech. Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas responded that “you need to achieve participatory politics. […] If the government keeps shutting up leftists, Nasserites, liberals and democrats, the Islamists will win.”
Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Gulf, Islam and Democracy, Public Opinion | Comment »
Egypt: New Election Website, IRI Delegation to Egypt
November 3rd, 2010 by Jason
Al Masry Al Youm has set up an English language website focusing on the upcoming elections. The website includes sections for photos, video, and media monitoring. Al Masry Al Youm also has a report on the arrival of an International Republican Institute (IRI) delegation in Cairo. The delegation met with members of the National Council of Human Rights (NCHR) including the head of the parliamentary elections unit, Makram Mohamed Ahmed, and Mahmoud Karem, NCHR secretary-general. According to the report, the delegation from IRI asked why NCHR had denied international election monitors access to the country. “‘It’s a popular decision coming from people, not the state,’” said Ahmed. Ahmed’s statement seems belied by polling data showing that the Egyptian people due, in fact, support international election monitors.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Middle Eastern Media, Public Opinion, Technology | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Iraq’s Development Challenges”
November 2nd, 2010 by Jason
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held a roundtable discussion Tuesday titled “Iraq’s Development Challenges.” The discussants were Christine McNab, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General & UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, John Desrocher, Director, Office of Iraq Affairs, US Department of State, and Leslie Campbell, Regional Director for the Middle East & North Africa, National Democratic Institute (NDI). The discussion was moderated by Frederick Tipson, Director of UNDP/Washington.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.) Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Civil Society, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Reform, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge”
October 14th, 2010 by Jason
The New America Foundation (NAF) held an event today marking the release of Hooman Majd’s new book, “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge.” Majd was introduced by Steve Clemons, Senior Fellow and Director of the American Strategy Program at NAF.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf)
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Posted in Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »
Lebanon: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
October 7th, 2010 by Jason
The anticipated UN Special Tribunal on Lebanon indictments are stoking tensions in the Levant. Mona Yacoubian writes at the Middle East Channel that the situation “embodies all the complex challenges that confront Lebanon: Sunni-Shiite sectarian tensions, Hezbollah’s weapons, confessional power-sharing, the influence of regional players particularly Syria […] and broader proxy battles between the West and the Hezbollah/Syria/Iran alliance.” Yacoubian argues that, of all the concerns, the reaction of Hezbollah to the possible indictment of several of its members is the most worrying because it has the most to lose: “…Hezbollah’s culpability in the Hariri assassination will deal a fatal blow to Hezbollah’s professed raison d’etre of ‘resistance’ against Israel, instead reducing the organization to nothing more than a sectarian militia among many in Lebanese confessional politics.”
A main point of contention in Lebanon presently is the issue of “false witnesses”–those who initially testified that Syria was responsible for the assassination. “(M)inisters loyal to Berri’s Development and Liberation bloc announced on Wednesday they would suspend their participation in future Cabinet sessions if a session scheduled for Tuesday did not tackle the issue of false witnesses,” Nafez Qawas reports in the Daily Star. Several members of the Cabinet, including Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Shami, refused to participate in sessions until the subject was addressed and warned that not addressing the issue would lead to “civil strife.”
Posted in Civil Society, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Sectarianism | Comment »
Contradictory Messages Make Middle East “Cynical” About Democracy
October 6th, 2010 by Anna
In an interview with the New Internationalist magazine, Middle East correspondent for The Independent Robert Fisk says that there is “a good deal of cynicism about the word [democracy]” among people in the Middle East. Although the West rhetorically promotes democracy in the region, many Western governments do not always support democratic principles in practice, even at home. Fisk asserts that what people in the Middle East seem to want is justice, adding that although foreign leaders preach justice, it is “something that I don’t think we’re interested in giving the Middle East.” Calling the effects of elections in the region “grotesque” and “a mockery,” he observes that “people seem to think it adds legitimacy to have an election even if it’s totally rigged.”
Fisk also criticizes Western support for authoritarian regimes in the Middle East who merely “play democracy.” In addition, he challenges the assumption that publics in the region “always want to buy our products, like human rights or democracy,” contending that foreign governments have not consistently supported those values in practice.
Posted in Elections, Foreign Aid, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Politics of Religious Freedom and the Minority Question: A Middle East Genealogy”
October 5th, 2010 by Jason
Saba Mahmood presented her forthcoming paper entitled “Politics of Religious Freedom and the Minority Question: A Middle Eastern Genealogy” at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center on Monday night. She was introduced by Jose Casanova, Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University and the head of the Berkley Center’s Program on Globalization, Religion and the Secular.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Public Opinion, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Between Religion and Politics”
September 29th, 2010 by Jason
An event was held today at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace celebrating the release of the book “Between Religion and Politics”, coauthored by Amr Hamzawy and Nathan Brown. Marwan Muasher acted as the moderator for the event, where the authors explained the process they utilized in the researching of the book and explored, in depth, the case studies of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, Political Islam, Public Opinion, Reform | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Towards A Palestinian State : Is Institution Building Succeeding?”
September 29th, 2010 by Anna
On Wednesday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the United States Institute of Peace co-hosted a panel discussion titled “Towards a Palestinian State: Is Institution Building Succeeding?” The discussion was moderated by Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, a Program Officer in USIP’s Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution. The panelists were Nathan Brown, a Nonresident Senior Associate of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment, Neil Kritz, the Senior Scholar in Residence in the Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution at USIP, Ghaith Al-Omari, Advocacy Director at the American Task Force on Palestine, and Howard Sumka, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East for USAID.
For the full notes, continue reading below. Or, click here for the PDF.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Events, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Judiciary, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Pakistan: Economic Woe Prompts Criticism From Military, US
September 29th, 2010 by Jason
The recent catastrophic flooding in Pakistan has caused tensions to rise between that country’s civilian government and it’s military. Jane Perlez writes in The New York Times that the seeming incompetence of President Asif Ali Zardari’s government has brought the question of a return to military rule back into play: “In a meeting on Monday[…]the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, confronted the president and his prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, over incompetence and corruption in the government[…]the meeting was widely interpreted by the Pakistani news media[…]as a rebuke to the civilian politicians and as having pushed the government to the brink.”
Economic factors have also played a role in the row between the military and civilian leaders in Pakistan. Perlez reports that in a recent meeting, finance minister Hafiz Shaikh told a group of civilians and military officers that the Pakistani government had “enough money to pay only two months’ salaries,” due in part to the country’s inability to collect enough taxes. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed this very issue yesterday at a gathering in Washington. Josh Rogin at Foreign Policy’s The Cable quotes Sec. Clinton: “‘Pakistan cannot have a tax rate of 9 percent of GDP when land owners and all of the other elites do not pay anything or pay so little it’s laughable, and then when there’s a problem everybody expects the United States and others to come in and help.’”
Posted in Military, Pakistan, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: What do the Protests Mean?
September 23rd, 2010 by Jason
Protests broke out on Tuesday in Cairo and Alexandria. Hoda Abdel-Hamid explains that the protests are important because “…the protestors voiced what many Egyptians say quietly: no to inheritance of power.” She adds, “…some Egyptians at least, are not intimidated by the system anymore. And what is even less clear is how the government will adapt with the rising voices of opposition.” Issandr El-Amrani wonders what signal the authorities are trying to send by cracking down harshly on protesters: “For the police, this might indicate new instructions to send a strong message to participants that such protests (not long ago largely tolerated and kept under control) will be handled more firmly from now on.” He shares Hamid’s concern about the governments next steps: “…what if, in the run-up to the succession many expect to happen in the next year, Egypt sees a considerable tightening of political space?[…] It’s worth keeping this in mind, because we’re not in 2005: Egypt’s domestic politics are not a major part of US foreign policy, the world is not watching.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Human Rights, Protests, Public Opinion | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Evaluating the State of Democracy in Pakistan”
September 23rd, 2010 by Jason
The United States Institute of Peace held a panel discussion Wednesday titled “Evaluating the State of Democracy in Pakistan”. The event was moderated by Moeed Yusuf, South Asia adviser and manager of the Pakistan program at USIP. The panel members were Mohammad Waseem, currently a visiting fellow at the Brooking Institution and professor of political science at Lahore University, Shahid Javed Burki, a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and current Senior Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Sheila Fruman, Senior Country Director for Pakistan at the National Democratic Institute from 2006-2010.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Military, Pakistan, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Taliban, US foreign policy | Comment »
Palestine: Is Fayyidism Viable?
September 21st, 2010 by Jason
“Relying on ‘Fayyadism’…alone will likely lead to failure and disappointment. Technocratic management can probably keep Palestinian institutions afloat and even improve their functioning in some limited ways. But it does not even pretend to offer a solution for the deeper problems afflicting Palestinian politics—division, repression, occupation, alienation, and wide-reaching institutional decay.” This was the conclusion of a paper by Nathan J. Brown two months ago. In a recent article at Carnegie Comment, Brown responds to questions about, and criticisms of, that paper.
The first criticism Brown takes on is the assertion that “limited state building” is the best that can be achieved in the present circumstances. Brown agrees that the situation is “impossible,” but focuses his response on the prevailing wisdom that Fayyidism is the key to state building in the West Bank. “Fayyad’s accomplishments, like his virtues, are real… The real political damage is done when those accomplishments are treated not as a way to keep Palestinian politics on life support but as a cure for the underlying diseases,” which he diagnosis’s as “Hamas, Gaza, authoritarianism, and political decay…” along with a broken legislative process.
Brown goes on to address questions about the reach of Fayyidism, whether its popularity makes it democratic, and why Fayyidism has gained so much support if its ability to effect real change is so limited. In a reveling passage, Brown tries to lay out an alternative to Fayyidism: “The existing approach, based on an assumption that a comprehensive Israeli–Palestinian agreement can be negotiated and then used as a device for ousting Hamas from control of Gaza is implausible… An approach that takes Palestinian politics seriously and prioritizes rather than postpones the issues of Gaza and Hamas would be difficult in its design… But at least it would be grounded in the realities of today rather than pretending that the conditions of the 1990s…still obtain.”
Posted in Civil Society, Hamas, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Public Opinion | Comment »
POMED Notes: “What’s Next? Prospects for Iraq’s Democratic Future.”
September 20th, 2010 by Jason
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) held a panel discussion today to discuss the ongoing political impasse in Iraq. The event was moderated by Michael Svetlik, the Vice President of Programs for IFES. The speakers for the event were Ted Galen Carpenter, Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy at the CATO Institute, Perry Cammack, a professional staff member for Senator John Kerry who focuses on the Middle East, and Sean Dunne, IFES Chief of Party in Iraq.
(To read full notes continue below the fold or click here for pdf)
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Posted in Civil Society, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Judiciary, Kurds, Military, NGOs, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Egypt at the Tipping Point?”
September 17th, 2010 by Anna
On Friday, David Ottaway gave a talk at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars titled “Egypt at the Tipping Point?” Ottaway – who is a senior scholar at the Wilson Center and the former Bureau Chief for the Washington Post in Cairo – discussed the findings from his recent paper, published in the Wilson Center Middle East Program’s Summer 2010 Occasional Paper Series. The talk was introduced and moderated by Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program.
(To read the full event summary, continue below. Or, click here to read the pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Events, Freedom, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Journalism, Middle Eastern Media, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Parties, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Can Islamism Be Democratic?
September 15th, 2010 by Jason
In an Atlantic article titled “When Islamism is Liberal-Democratic”, Max Fisher notes that the recent passing of a constitutional referendum in Turkey is being described in some quarters as a turn away from the country’s secular past. He asserts that it is actually a move towards liberal democracy: “Islamic rule and liberal democracy, far from mutually exclusive in the Middle East, can go hand-in-hand.” He goes on to describe Middle Eastern Islamic movements as essentially “populist” and not all that different from populist movements in the U.S. or elsewhere. As Fisher points out, Islamic governments are often more representative of the populace than secular dictatorships, promoting cooperation and trust between the government and the people. The dictatorships, which have often been supported by the U.S. in the past, often cause “…more harm than good.” He concludes by saying,” We might prefer that all governments be secular liberal democracies like our own. But if we must choose between an Islamic democracy or a secular autocracy, regional history suggests we should prefer the former every time.”
Posted in Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Freedom, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Public Opinion, Secularism, Turkey | Comment »
Lebanon: Hezbollah Still Ahead in Governance
September 15th, 2010 by Anna
Marlin Dick, a freelance journalist based in Lebanon, profiled the evolving nature of Hezbollah in a piece for The Middle East Report Online on Monday. He asserts that, among other successes, the group’s partial reconstruction of some of Beirut’s southern suburbs after the July 2006 War demonstrates that “the party remains ahead in the governance game compared to the woeful Lebanese state,” which remains fragmented and weak. Dick suggests that the party’s domestic reputation has only been improving in recent years, especially in areas where law and order are kept by the party, not the state. Dick describes Hezbollah’s social service provision to its Shiite base as “large-scale and usually efficient,” and adds that its reconstruction projects have been run with considerable professionalism. In contrast, Dick writes, the government has been widely accused of fund mismanagement, corruption, and overall incompetence. Although the party’s performance “has not been spotless in the eyes of its base,” its leaders have cultivated a “domestic political aura of seriousness and anti-corruption” and have engaged in domestic political debates about how to conduct elections, reform, and privatization among other issues.
Dick concludes: “For now, the party is benefiting from its expanded civil, political and state responsibilities [and] has managed to run its ministries without becoming tarred with accusations of corruption and squandering of resources.” He dismisses accusations that the party’s Islamist inclinations threaten the “Lebanese state and political order.”
Posted in Hezbollah, Lebanon, Political Islam, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Sectarianism | Comment »
Turkey: Referendum Wrap Up Cont.
September 14th, 2010 by Evan
Analysis of Turkey’s constitutional referendum continues. An editorial in The Guardian argues that the world should judge AKP by its political and economic record, not by unfounded allegations that it has a hidden “Islamist” agenda: “A small revolution is taking place in a country whose history has been plagued by repression and army-backed coups, and it is happening democratically and bloodlessly. A system in which generals and judges held power, toppling four governments since 1960, is being rolled back with democratic consent.” An article in The National suggests the opposition party’s failure has helped AKP consolidate its control over the Turkish political system: “Turkey’s main opposition party is in such disarray that its leader could not even cast a vote in Sunday’s referendum on constitutional reforms. In his concession speech that night, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), had to apologise to his constituents because he had failed to make sure that his name was on the voting rolls. It was a fitting end to a bad day for Turkey’s once-dominant party.”
Posted in Civil Society, Judiciary, Military, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Turkey | Comment »
Pakistan: Flood Response Damages Government’s Credibility
September 1st, 2010 by Anna
Amidst domestic perceptions that the Pakistani government’s response to the continuing flood crisis has been inadequate, some observers have asked whether the disaster will affect the country’s political future. Issam Ahmed writes in the Christian Science Monitor that President Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to continue his tour of Europe as the crisis grew “enraged ordinary Pakistanis.” This, in addition to the slow pace with which politicians addressed their constituents’ needs and the general sense that corruption plagues Pakistani politics, has increased “momentum in favor of military rule…among Pakistan’s upper-middle classes.” There is a growing perception that “at least the Army gets the job done” and is less corrupt than civilian politicians. According to one interviewee, the military is “pretty happy and pretty comfortable seeing the civilian process bleed like this.” Although positive perceptions of the military seem to be on the rise in Pakistan, some observers contend that no government, civilian or military, can truly meet popular expectations.
Posted in Military, Pakistan, Political Parties, Public Opinion | Comment »
Palestine: Political Divides, Repression Will Hurt Peace Process
September 1st, 2010 by Anna
Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of the Palestine Center, asks in an article today what recent ”upticks in politically repressive activity” by the Palestinian Authority might mean for the prospect of peace with Israel. He writes that “Abbas is now about to enter direct negotiations in spite of the adamant objections of the Palestinian public.” By cracking down on political opponents, according to Munayyer, Abbas is only damaging his government’s legitimacy and confirming that he “is in no position to sign a binding and lasting agreement on behalf of Palestinian stakeholders.” Amidst an inter-Palestinian divide, Munayyer points out that many Palestinians do not feel adequately represented by the PA, and this sentiment is exacerbated by the continued repression of non-Fatah voices in Palestinian politics. He concludes that “Palestinian domestic political disarray is likely to continue,” and contends that a viable resolution of the conflict with Israel can only be possible under a “unified and representative” Palestinian government.
Posted in Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Political Parties, Public Opinion | Comment »
