Studies in Islam and the Middle East [SIME] journal » Blog Archive » Fine-Tuning Democracy: Too Much Power… too Little Power

Studies in Islam and the Middle East [SIME] journal » Blog Archive » Fine-Tuning Democracy: Too Much Power… too Little Power: "Fine-Tuning Democracy: Too Much Power… too Little Power

As the current US administration prepares to make a significant strategic shift in Iraq to stop the deterioration of the military, economic, political, and social conditions therein, it is helpful to consider the situation in other Middle Eastern countries to see the root causes of the US failure to bring positive change in Iraq and in the region. In my view, the civil war in Iraq (and possibly in Palestine and Lebanon) is primarily due to the manipulation of the political process to pre-determine the outcome on the expense of the democratic principles. There is no “way forward” anywhere without trying to reverse the damage. There must be a full stop first, admission of responsibility second, and restarting the process the right way third; and the right way entails respecting the will of the people regardless of who comes to power. For the sake of the long term stability of the world, not just the region, the West must also initiate, encourage, and preserve true separation of governance powers in the Arab world at all cost."