Democratization

Publication Date: 2007/03/26

Publication / Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Author: Charles A. Kupchan

Europeans have much to be proud of on the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaty. The political and economic integration of Europe is one of the most significant developments of our time. It constitutes nothing less than a geopolitical revolution that transformed intractable rivals into a community in which war has become unthinkable. But even as Europeans enjoy a justifiable sense of accomplishment, they must also confront the sobering reality that the European project may be on the cusp of faltering. A re – nationalization of political life is taking place across the EU.

Publication Date: 2006/09/18

Publication / Source: Saban Center Analysis Paper, Brookings Institution

Author: Tamara C Wittes and Sarah E Yerkes

Only three years on, Bush's Freedom Agenda is facing a backlash. Elections in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories in 2005 and 2006 brought success to groups with radical and—in some cases—anti-American views, evoking responses from the U.S. government that called America's commitment to democratization into question. Can a drive for democracy in the Middle East be sustained in the face of apparent setbacks like those in Egypt and Lebanon? Will the Freedom Agenda, described by its Bush Administration authors as a generational commitment, survive the end of Bush's final term in office? This paper analyzes the policies put in place to back up Bush's rhetoric, and proposes steps to make the promise of a pro-democracy agenda real over the long term.

Publication Date: 2006/08/30

Publication / Source: International Herald Tribune

Author: Robert E. Hunter

"The Arab-Israeli conflict has bedeviled every U.S. president for more than a half-century. President George W. Bush now has an opportunity to bring it to an end. This is in the interests of Israel, the Palestinians, and everyone in the Middle East who prefers peace to war. From the perspective of the United States, it has become a strategic imperative."

Publication Date: 2006/08/22

Publication / Source: Democracy Arsenal

Author: Shadi Hamid

"Within the Islamic tradition (like any other tradition), one can find that which supports violence and intolerance and that which repudiates it. In today’s war of ideas, we must take the peaceful precedents in Islamic history and amplify and communicate them to a larger audience."

Publication Date: 07/22/2006

Publication / Source: Blueprint Magazine; Brookings Institution

Author: Ken Pollack

Just as America tailored its policies toward every other country during the Cold War to support the strategy of containment, it must now fashion a similar strategy toward the Middle East if it is to meet the challenges that are rooted there. By Ken Pollack, Director of Research, Saban Center for Middle East Policy of the Brookings Institution.