A new book published in Washington argues that US support for Arab democracy will not necessarily secure US interests. Dina Ezzat speaks to its author The US has much thinking to do when it comes to best supporting the march of Arab countries towards democracy. This while taking into consideration the fact that encouraging democracy in the Arab world would not necessarily -- if at all -- eliminate support that militant Islamic groups enjoy or secure popular Arab support of the US. This is the basic argument that Tamara Cofman Wittes, Brookings Institution expert, puts forward in her recent book, Freedom's Unsteady March: America's Role in Building Arab Democracy, published this month. Wittes was recently in Cairo at the invitation of Egypt's International Economic Forum to speak about her book. "Attempting to push the Middle East towards more American-style government was, after all, one of the Bush administration's hallmarks, and the results have discredited the project as few could have imagined," Wittes writes in her opening chapter. The free and fair electoral victory of Hamas in the occupied Palestinian territories in January 2006 and the soaring popularity of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah -- in sharp contrast to the limited popularity of many Arab regimes -- are used by Wittes to illustrate what Arab democracy would likely produce. However, Wittes does not suggest that the US should withdraw from the Arab sphere. "It is unrealistic to suggest that the best thing for the US to do is nothing," she said. "It is unrealistic in view of US interests in the region," she added. As such, even if the US were to pull out its troops out of Iraq tomorrow, after having "stabilised" the country, it would need to maintain a firm presence -- political and perhaps otherwise -- in the region, Wittes argued. Wittes advocates a rethinking of strategy in Washington. Referring to the Islamist vision, she states: "You cannot fight something with nothing; an alternative vision has to be provided. The issue is to change the political context in which Islamists will be playing." According to Wittes, the fact that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has recently been obliged to put forward its political platform is an example of how contextual political change can challenge Islamists. "A freer environment forced Islamists to offer specific answers and they ceased to be the empty vessel for everybody's hopes." The US, Wittes suggests, could be a catalyst to induce such a "freer environment" by demanding that Arab governments that receive US financial aid meet specific democracy requirements in return for the continuance and possible enhancement of their aid packages. Put differently, Wittes's book argues that a "stable new basis for America's necessary regional engagement can be built only on the enlightened self-interest of both sides, and today, unlike in the past, that requires the consent of the region's citizens." Meanwhile, Wittes argues that Washington and Arab governments need to stop using the spectre of radical dissent as pretext to suppress political opposition. This only makes Islamists more popular, she added. Furthermore, Wittes argues that the US vision for democracy in the Arab world cannot progress if it fails to live up to Palestinian aspirations and Arab demands for socio- economic prosperity. It needs to be based on a new social contract between Arab governments and the people, she adds. According to Wittes, the US needs to work with Arab governments to help resolve regional problems, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict. More importantly, it needs to help these governments talk to and with their citizens. In particular, Wittes calls for the US administration to oblige its Arab allies to stop using "emergency laws and other security tools to suppress the formation of independent social forces that could potentially counterbalance state power". A new vision, Wittes argues, is especially needed in view of the "Iraq experience", which is what forced regime change in the Arab world should be taken off the US agenda "for the foreseeable future". "The overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq produced a seemingly endless military quagmire that resulted in thousands of dead American soldiers and untold numbers of dead Iraqis. The reconstruction effort produced nothing an American might confuse with democracy," Wittes wrote. According to Freedom House, Wittes reports, the Middle East is the least democratic region on earth. The US, she acknowledges, is not entirely free of blame for this state of affairs, However, Wittes avoids all questions regarding the wisdom or otherwise of US support for undemocratic Arab regimes -- especially the succession scenario seen in many Arab states as a means to prevent the rise of Islamists or Arab nationalists who would challenge the Arab alliances with the US to the detriment of its most favoured ally, Israel, and its concern to control oil.
