The Potential Effects Of Democracy On The Middle East

The Potential Effects of Democracy in the Middle East Democracy has often been affiliated with reflective notions such as freedom and liberty, as well as the belief that people deserve a voice to represent their demands and the majority of a population should have its way. The first idea of democracy promotion started with Wilsonian ideas, the democratic peace theorem, and the long-term security interests of all democracies (Huber, 2008). It is often regarded as an abstract concept with varying definitions that change based on the area the concept is being applied in. Fundamentally, the democracy practiced in the U.S. is inconceivable to apply to a region that is drastically different in a wide array of aspects. As a result, any associations with the concept of democracy in regions such as the Middle East must be regarded subjectively due to a different social, cultural, economic, and political environment. Furthermore, the manner in which states with undemocratic political systems are portrayed as being ‘failed’ states car ries the connotation that being undemocratic is thus backward (Al-Jarrah, 2007). Given that the vast majority of the countries in the Middle East are predominantly Islamic, have diverse economies, and share a common Middle Eastern culture, these influences must be acknowledged for the respective roles they play in order to form an adequate definition for democracy in this region. In order to gain an understanding of what has prevented the Middle EastShow MoreRelatedDemocracy in The Middle East Essay1166 Words   |  5 PagesThe imposing of liberal democracy into foreign states and in particular into the Middle East would not necessarily create peace due to their cultural and geographical context. 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