Tag Archives: Democracy

26May/08

“Is Anyone Listening?”

Human Rights, Syria, , , , ,

November 21, 2003, 9:08

By Nir Boms & Erick Stakelbeck

“The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our country.”

With this statement, made in his November 6, 2003, speech calling for the establishment of democracy in the Middle East, President Bush galvanized an increasingly active contingent of Syrian democracy advocates. The Reform Party of Syria (RPS) – a fledgling, U.S.-based political movement comprised of resident Syrians and Syrians living abroad – was formed shortly after 9/11 to express a voice that has been virtually nonexistent in Syria during 40 years of oppressive Baath-party rule: a voice of freedom. For members of RPS, Bush’s castigation of “dictators in Iraq and Syria” who “promised the restoration of national honor [and] left instead a legacy of torture, oppression, misery, and ruin” provided a source of hope for a new Syria, one free from extremism, terror, and iron-fisted rule.

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26May/08

Building Democracy in Iraq

Islam and Democracy, Middle East

By Nir Boms
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 11, 2003

Democracy is still a rare phenomenon in the Arab and Muslim world – and as we attempt to bring Democracy to places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the discussion concerning the reason for this reality triggers much attention.  George Will recently commented on this “democracy deficit” focusing on the cultural dimension. He noted that the Islamic world lacked an “attachment for freedom” and “social ground for the seeds of democracy”.

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22May/08

Yemen’s Facade of Freedom

Yamen, , , ,

 

By Nir Boms and Erick Stackelbeck
FrontPageMagazine.com | February 4, 2004

Last month, as Yemen hosted the Sana’a Conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role of the International Criminal Court-the first such event in a country long wracked by internal strife and despotism-the Bush administration was undoubtedly keeping a watchful eye. With Afghanistan and Iraq inching slowly towards reform, Libya apparently coming clean about its WMD program, and Syria and Iran under increasing U.S. pressure, the Yemeni government’s talk of democracy appeared to be another step toward the fulfillment of President Bush’s vision of a free Middle East. But in Yemen, as in most Middle Eastern countries, there is a fine line between rhetoric and reality. 

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21May/08

Reform Lingo

Democratization Policy, Middle East, , , ,

By Nir Boms and Erick Stakelbeck

Published July 14, 2004, The Washington Times

One of the more intriguing aspects of last week’s transfer of power in Iraq was the reaction it drew from neighboring governments in the region, particularly those that, traditionally, have been anything but democracy-friendly. 

Iran’s mullahs, for instance, “welcomed” the transfer as giving “sovereignty back to the majority of the Iraqi people.” Likewise, Jordanian government spokeswoman Asma Khader labeled the move “a step toward rebuilding political, economic, security and social institutions in Iraq,” while Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher called it “an opportunity for [the Iraqi people] to take control of their own affairs and restore complete sovereignty.” 

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