Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael | Publications

Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael | Publications
Kunnen Arabieren, democratie en Islam door één deur? Maurits S. Berger

observes that whereas many countries in the world suffer from a democracy deficit, it is striking how prevailing this is in the entire Arab world. The author, after stating all the reasons that have so far been proposed to explain the Arab character of this deficit, concludes that none of them is exclusive for the Arab world. What makes the Arab world, and especially the Middle East and Gulf states so special, however, is that they have been treated by the Western world with ‘benign negligence’, meaning that stable dictatorships have been preferred over unpredictable democracies. At the same time, hoever, the virtues of democracy and freedom were celebrated by the Western world as well. The author argues that a new and more sincere Western approach is needed vis-a-vis democracy in the Arab world. If democracy is what the West wants from the Arab world, we should ask ourselves whether we will allow them a full democracy, including all the unpredictable and perhaps unpleasant consequences that may result thereof. The fear of an Islamic takeover on the basis of ‘one man-one vote-one time’ might be real but has never been proven. Moreover, the Western world should be perceptive of the notion that an ‘Islamic’ alternative to democracy be valuable and viable.