American Democracy Promotion in the Changing Middle East
From Bush to Obama
Shahram Akbarzadeh editor James Piscatori editor Amin Saikal editor Benjamin MacQueen editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:23rd Jun '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£145.00(9780415520553)
The recent "Arab spring", with its popular uprisings in many Arab countries, has exposed the ambiguity at the heart of American promotion of democracy in the Middle East. The US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were packaged as democracy promotion, as heralding the beginning of a new phase in the politics of the Middle East when democracy would replace authoritarian regimes. Many of these authoritarian regimes, however, were sustained by US support. The recent popular uprisings threaten to bring democracy without promotion by the US, and threaten to overthrow regimes previously supported by the US and important for US strategy in the region – hence an initial hesitant response by the US to some of the uprisings. This book explores the contradictions in American democracy promotion in the Middle East. It discusses the principles underlying US democracy promotion, and the debates surrounding US policy formation, and examines the application of US democracy promotion in specific cases. It concludes by assessing the likely future patterns of US engagement with democratic reform in the Middle East.
"This is an important and timely publication. Its focus on the changing circumstances of the Middle East is a reflection of the dilemma facing many Western analysts and policy-makers over the tension between stability, that is seen generally to favour the West’s national interests, and change that is long term and uncertain but which is probably the best hope for the democratic project. The book’s chapters cover an interesting range of issues that are particularly relevant to the challenge facing the United States and have a nice blend of the descriptive with the more theoretical." - Dr Anthony Billingsley, University of New South Wales; e-International Relaions, February 2013.
ISBN: 9781138815551
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 272g
184 pages