Elliott Abrams

Pressure Points

Abrams gives his take on U.S. foreign policy, with special focus on the Middle East and democracy and human rights issues.

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Souring on the Arab Spring?

by Elliott Abrams
January 27, 2012

Is the “Arab Spring” turning away from democracy, and leading instead to religious extremism? Was the enthusiasm for the revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere shown by many cheerleaders for democracy just a burst of naivete?

Those are the subjects I discussed in an article in Foreign Policy.  My own take in “A Forward Strategy of Freedom“ is that the governments in question had rightly lost all legitimacy and were doomed. Now, the battle for democracy commences–and though we cannot determine the outcome, there is much the United States and other friends of freedom can do to help.

 

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  • Posted by Dean Smallwood

    Freedom doesn’t always follow democracy . A simple majority can end the freedom of the minority . It will take a lot of work to to make sure that the kind of democracy which takes hold in the Middle East assures a guarantee of freedom for all .

  • Posted by neville craig

    As a resident of the E Med countries on and off for 30 years I am astonished at the simplistic USFP that has given the secular Arabs a hard time (eg Arafat and Saddam) – demonising them to an unnecessary degree, and discouraging compromise.

    There is evidence that Mossad operatives – with a hatred of the unattractive Arafat – for a long time provided finance fo Hamas.
    US/UK supported Saddam to contain Iran, then abandoned him (and Texan oilmen, reversing a decision to raise crude to $25)

    The initiative has being handed to the Muslim Brotherhood, long well-organised and well-educated, playing the long game.
    The IRM and the Islamists now come back to bite us (like IRA).
    ‘Spreading democracy’ indeed – kiddos get real!

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