Getting governance right in Egypt
As the oldest and strongest advocate for democracy on earth, you would think that we Americans would understand that it doesn’t spring full-grown from the holding of elections, and that to make elections the primary benchmark of progress when advising a fledgling new democracy may do more harm than good — especially in the Middle East. Consider what has happened in Iraq, the Palestinian territories or recently in Egypt; namely, sectarian warfare in Iraq, disunity and violence among Palestinians, and a seriously flawed, now-deposed government in Egypt.
It takes time (e.g., South Sudan today) for tribes to accept that tolerance toward other tribes may serve their self-interest, and more time still before that stage leads to rudimentary pluralism — intertribal political parties espousing differing concepts of the relationship between the state and the individual.… Seguir leyendo »