Back during the Bush Administration — after the defeat of Saddam Hussein and the the reconstruction period in Iraq — there was a lot of talk about “Budding Democracy” in the Middle East. The smart guys were convinced they could turn Iraq into a democratic outpost. They argued that Democracies were inherently peaceful and that democratic countries did not fight each other. They found out that building democracy was harder than they thought. In effect, once Iraq held elections, they declared Iraq democratic. While elections are critical to a functioning democracy there is a lot more to creating a sustainable democratic system than holding an election.
Theorists have posited a wide variety of things that are needed to support democracy: economic development, a solid middle class, participation, some sense of having a stake in the system, reduction in the political importance of social cleavages, rotation of government… you can easily add to this list.
What I want you to do (after reading the material this week and reviewing the previous material) is to speculate on the future of democracy in the Middle East. Pick one or two countries to use as examples of your arguments. Ten years from now will any country other than Israel evolve into a functioning Democracy.
Use this essay to let your analytical talents shine… Be sure to cite specific examples from the provided text.