Lack of Democracy in Arab Countries Essay

Most countries in the world have embraced electoral democracy. It is worthy to note that democracy, in essence, is based on the majority rule, while at the same time acknowledging the interests and views of the minority. Some countries such as France and the US among others have effective democratic systems while others, particularly in Africa, have shown lots of progress. However, despite the progress in the world, Arab countries in the Middle East have not embraced elements of democracy. Imperatively, Diamond (2010, pp. 93-104) conducted a study on democratization of Arab Countries. His main objective was to determine the reasons why Arab countries lack democracies. Typically, culture, Arab-Israel conflict, oil wealth, massive foreign aid, and regional effects are contributory factors of lack of democracy in Arab countries and not the Islamic religion.

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The author elucidates that religion is not responsible for the democracy deficit being experienced in Arab countries. He recounts that if religion were a factor inhibiting democracy, there would be no reasonable political rights in any majority country such as Senegal, Bangladesh, and Albania among others. He explains that if religion were to a contingent factor, all Muslim majority countries would be like Arab nations that exhibit no democratic rights. Notably, all Arab countries do not meet the required minimum electoral democracy test of free and fair polls. Moreover, there is a huge freedom gap that exists between non-Arab Muslim majority and Arab countries (Diamond 2010, p. 95). Thus, the author deduces that religion is never a factor as far as democracy is concerned in the Middle East.

When discussing culture as the main reason for democracy deficit in the Middle East, a complex story arises. The author pinpoints that a given survey conducted in five Arab countries between 2003 and 2006 reveals that 56% of respondents were in agreement that men of Islamic religion should influence how a government makes decisions. It is also noted from the survey that half of respondents are in support of Islamic shari'a laws as the rule to govern people. Interestingly, during the interview, about 40 to 45% of those interviewed supported secular democracy. A similar portion of respondents also supported an Islamic democracy. It is also vital to note that about 5 to 10% of respondents support secular authoritarianism, while the same proportion want Islamic authoritarianism (Diamond 2010, p. 96).

This story becomes complex for it is hard to know if the proportion of those in favor of both Islamic influence and democracy understand the true meaning of democracy which entails majority rule as well as taking care of minority interests and rights. On the other hand, the author explains, through works of Mark Tessler and Amaney Jamal, that advocates of secular and Islamic democracies share the same values regarding equality, tolerance, and openness. However, the author notes that secular democrats are liberal as far as respecting women rights and racial tolerance are concerned. Overall, it is conclusive that Arabs value democracy.

It is also worthy to understand that the secular democrats who press for democracy in Arab countries are usually professionals and businesspeople from middle-class society who also belong to ethnic or religious minorities. In most cases, they fail to sift through the survey mentioned above to know the beliefs of their fellow citizens regarding democracy. They, therefore, fear that if a democratic process is not implemented, then the governance of their country risks becoming an authoritarian regime under the leadership of Islamists such as Islamic Action Front and the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan and Egypt respectively. They believe that these extreme Islamists would hijack a democratic revolution, which may plunge their country into war. Thus, this explains the complexity of the story when discussing culture as a democracy deficit factor in Arab countries of the Middle East (Diamond 2010, p. 97).

Oil wealth as impacted negatively as far as Arab democracy is concerned. It has made Arab countries to be dependent on oil rents. The ramification for this has been reduction or elimination of the need for taxation. According to Diamond (2010, p. 98), this has, therefore, halted the demand for representation through electoral democracy since it is difficult for citizens to demand representation if the government does not tax them. Moreover, oil wealth has resulted into profound corruption as it is belongs to a repressive, large, and centralized state with no accountability. Oil wealth enables Arab states to invest in lavish state security aimed at suppressing any demand for electoral democracy.

Controlled elections and regression have detrimental effects on electoral democracies. These tactics entail loosening electoral constraints as the cry for democratic process mounts until political opposition grows. The autocratic regime after that develops strategies to shrink political space of their opponents through election rigging and political arrest. These tactics act as survival strategies for authoritarian regimes. It is essential to highlight that they enable autocratic governments to suppress emerging opposition as well as revolution from people who want electoral reforms and justice (Diamond 2010, p. 99). Furthermore, both regression and controlled election can result in a violent revolution that can topple over the existing authoritarian regime.

Geopolitics such as foreign aid, Arab-Israel conflict, and regional effects also contribute to lack of electoral democracy in Arab countries. For instance, foreign aid, just like oil wealth, enters the central state coffers. Consequently, it enables Arab countries to survive without taxing their citizens to raise money to run the government. For this reason, it is nearly impossible for citizens in Arab countries to demand for representation through credible electoral democracy. Arab-Israel conflict is also an important factor that contributes to lack of democracy in Arab countries. Imperatively, Arab regimes have intoxicated their citizens into believing Israeli people are oppressive. In this regard, Arab regimes find a convenient way of diverting their citizens' frustration as far as human rights abuse and corruption are concerned. Thus, they focus too much on condemnation of Israel and not on demand for democracy. Lastly, there is no single Arab country to emulate as a democratic nation. Thus, Arab countries lack a source of democratic emulation or diffusion within the Arab world (Diamond 2010, pp. 101-102).

Conclusion

In conclusion, factors that lead to lack of democratization of Arab countries include a combination of culture, Arab-Israel conflict, oil wealth, massive foreign aid, and regional effects. Nonetheless, culture as a factor involves complexities that require in-depth understanding and research. For oil wealth and foreign aids, the result into no taxation of citizens, hence lack of the urge to demand for representation through democracy. On the other hand, Arab-Israel conflict makes citizens in Arab countries to turn their frustration away from demand for accountability and representation in governance. Lastly, there are no known democratic countries in the Arab world, a situation that promotes the thriving of autocracies among Arab countries.

Reference

Diamond, L. (2010). Why are there no Arab Democracies? Journal of Democracy, 21(1), 93-104.