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January 10, 2006
Can the Middle East be Democratized? Fares Center at Tufts to Host Timely International Conference January 26-27
"…the Iraqi election may prove a turning point in Middle Eastern history no less important than the arrival of General Bonaparte and the French Revolution in Egypt more than two centuries ago.
Bernard Lewis, Foreign Affairs, May-June 2005
Medford/Somerville, Mass. [01.10.06] The Bush Administration’s controversial invasion of Iraq and often-stated goal of helping to nurture democracy in that war-torn country, raises a broader, even more important, question about the prospects of establishing democracy throughout the Middle East. To address this issue, the Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Tufts University will host an international two-day held at conference at the Fletcher School on Thursday, Jan. 26 and Friday, Jan 27.
According to Leila Fawaz, founder and Director of the Fares Center, the conference comes at a moment when there are the briefest stirrings of democracy in a region of the world where power has been mostly centered in autocratic monarchies, powerful families and single parties. Questions abound: Are tyrannies in the region an endangered species? What are the obstacles to democratization? If democracy takes root in Iraq, will success, as President Bush has stated, “send forth the news, from Damascus to Teheran -- that freedom can be the future of every nation”?
Experts from Iran, Egypt, Israel, Syria and Morocco and the United States-- indeed, from Boston to Beirut – will be on hand to discuss a variety of topics, including elections and civil society, historical precedents for Middle East democracy, religion and democracy, women and democracy, and American interests and Middle East Democracy. The keynote speaker is Rashid Khalidi, Professor of Arab Studies, and Director, of the Middle East Institute, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University [Jan. 26, at 3:15 p.m.]
Other participants include Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and author of the controversial Foreign Affairs article “What Went Wrong in Iraq” [Sept./Oct. 2004] on Jan. 27 at 6 p.m.] and, two experts who have done extensive polling in the Arab world: Mark Tessler, political science professor from the University of Michigan, and Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland [College Park].
To be sure, the political picture in the Middle East is mixed. In 2002, Bahrain held its first elections for 27 years, in which women were allowed both to stand for office and to vote. United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan announced last month that the oil-rich Gulf state will hold its first elections. And, in Afghanistan, the reopening of the Afghan Parliament on Dec. 19 has been hailed as another step toward stability after years of chaos.
On the other hand, an Egyptian court recently sentenced a leading opposition figure to five years at hard labor, after convicting him on a forgery charge widely seen as a political prosecution – this after Mubarek was earlier praised for his surprise announcement that he would hold nominally competitive elections. Indeed, in a Nov. 13th story headlined “Smothering Democracy in Mideast,” The New York Times reported that: “In Jordan and through almost all of the Middle East,” the role of each country’s secret police remains a major obstacle to reform. Even in Iraq, following the Dec. 15th elections to Parliament and attempts to establish a “national unity government, the prospects for democracy are uncertain.
The overriding challenge for all is to find common ground between knee-jerk pessimism in the face of the many obstacles to Arab democratization and the naïve optimism that fails to take into account the region’s political complexities.
For a list of panels and times, please see the Fares Center Web Site: http://farescenter.tufts.edu/conferences/2006Jan26-27.asp
We plan to set aside several places for reporters wishing to have dinner [Thursday] at 7 p.m. and lunch [Friday at 1 p.m.] If you are interested, please email or call Terry [email address or phone number above] as there are only a limited number of spaces.
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 26 [2:30-4:45 p.m.] and, Friday, Jan. 27 [9 a.m.- 12:45 p.m., 2:15-7 p.m.]
WHERE: The Fletcher School [ASEAN Auditorium ] Tufts University 160 Packard Ave. Medford, Massachusetts 02155
Posted by fletcher at January 10, 2006 05:32 PM
