Democracy, Terrorism and American Policy in the Arab World
Abstract
The United States has embarked upon what President Bush and Secretary of State Rice has called a generational challenge to encourage political reform and democracy in the Arab world. The Bush Administration and other defenders of the democracy campaign contend that the push for Arab democracy is not only about spreading American values, but also about insuring American security. They hypothesize that as democracy grows in the Arab world, anti-American terrorism from the Arab world will decline. Therefore, the promotion of democracy in the Arab world is not only consistent with American security goals in the area, but necessary to achieve those goals. Two questions present themselves in considering this element of the Bush Doctrine in the Arab world: 1) Is there a relationship between terrorism and democracy such that the more democratic a country becomes, the less likely it is to produce terrorists and terrorist groups? In other words, is the security rationale for democracy promotion in the Arab world based on a sound premise?; and 2) What kind of governments would likely be generated by democratic elections in Arab countries? Would they be willing to cooperate with the United States on important policy objectives in the Middle East, not only in maintaining democracy but also on Arab-Israeli, Gulf security and oil issues? This paper will consider these two questions. It finds that there is little empirical evidence linking democracy with an absence of or reduction in terrorism. It questions whether democracy would reduce the motives and opportunities of groups like al-Qa'ida, which oppose democracy on both. It examines recent trends in Arab public opinion and elections, concluding that while Arab publics are very supportive of democracy, democratic elections in Arab states are likely to produce Islamist governments which would be much less likely to cooperate with the United States than their authoritarian predecessors. religious and practical grounds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 21, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA435048
Entities
People
- F. G. Gause Iii
Organizations
- University of Vermont