Does Democracy Have a Future in our Arab World?

Does Democracy Have a Future in our Arab World?

It seems to me that talk about democracy will keep featuring prominently in the media and intellectual and political circles in the foreseeable future, particularly in view of the fact that recurrent events in the region in the quest for change and democratic transformation of regimes in most Arab countries today require a lot of discussion and thought. In last month s Talk I discussed the democracy issue and enquired whether the Western model of democracy as recognized worldwide is he sole model that suits all societies, especially our Arab ones, regardless of different social values and cultural traditions.

In discussing the issue of democracy in our Arab world we should bear in mind that we are talking about a nascent being, in an inhospitable terrain, not deeply-rooted in prevailing Arab culture.

As I have pointed out, the general structure of any democratic system can only be properly based on an environment of the citizen s individual freedom of knowledge and choice as an essential condition for democratic practices, I d like to add here that the product of such freedom should be the individual s genuine belief in multiplicity, not excluding the choices of other persons or any political, social or ideological group.

A contradictory discourse

Despite the discourse used by the governments of the Arab countries which have undergone recent change stressing adherence to democracy, and although practices clash with such a discourse through extraordinary laws and acts of dictatorial regimes rather than democratic models, most of these countries are keen to decorate their discourse with signs of such democratic culture as parliaments, constitutions and loyal and opposition parties, as is the case in Egypt, where such institutions of democratic form have existed for over sixty years. The same is true of Tunisia, Syria and Yemen, but in actual practice these governments have abandoned the democratic approach and maintained their formal institutions and modified them to secure their policies as self-assurance that all their practices are justified on recognized democratic grounds.

It is those formal democracies that the Arab peoples have risen up against in their quest for change, freedom and equal rights. Those formal democratic institutions have for over sixty years failed to adopt real democratic practices and fulfil people s wishes, rights and demands. Failure is also attributed to the fact that the concept of democracy should in essence change many of the dominant social vlues and customs in the Arab world which clash with the essential concepts of democracy. That s why many Arab parliaments today turn such institutions into a power above the people passing such laws that agree with the views and interests of the ruling authorities rather than the people s. Moreover, such dominant formal democracies in the Arab world have only produced pre-democracy values and customs rather than those which democracy promotes, such as equality with no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, gender or colour.

Furthermore, some signs in the societies that overthrew totalitarian regimes in Iraq, Tunisia and Libya, e.g., do not show a democratic alternative or that equality of political, social and cultural rights have been established; on the contrary, there are unmistakable signs that there has been a regressions in some popular gains made before those dictators were toppled, particularly in the areas of women s rights and non-sectarianism.

Western democracy, which has abolished feudalism and its political system and transformed societies into a democratic system developed by thinkers, philosophers, scientists and others, has brought about not only a number of political, economic and social changes but also profound changes in the Western societies cultural and intellectual structure, the essence of democratic transformation.

A discussion of the future of democracy in the Arab world issue should stress the manner in which such democracy is achieved maintaining a balance with the serious problems caused by the poverty and illiteracy phenomena at social and cultural levels, particularly in view of the fact that educated persons in most Arab societies accept such opinions and fatwas on their personal affairs that are not in line with the spirit, achievements and demands of the age and are taken for granted. Is it possible for democracy to be deeply established in societies dominated by such mentalities? Is it possible for such individuals to achieve some form of democracy in their societies?

The constitution and intellectual heritage

This issue is closely related to a crucial step which all Arab societies which have witnessed uprisings demanding change and freedom are looking forward to, namely the drafting of new constitutions and how they are drawn up, as well as the political, intellectual and cultural forces able to lead such societies to viable democracy.

One of the problems which the Arab mentality in general suffers from is that centuries old political and cultural heritage has almost become something sacred, not subject to discussion or reanalysis.

Observing such heritage as produced by Arab and Muslim societies in ancient periods of history means that we do not judge our personal affairs and interests according to reason or logic at an age of knowledge and greater mental abilities, thanks to the new knowledge media produced in recent decades. It should be taken into consideration that Arabs and Muslims in the distant past produced such heritage at a time when research methods were limited compared with today s global network of communication which combines Arab and Western minds in an unprecendented manner in human history.

The above fact clearly reflects a serious crisis as Arab in self-confidence and in our scientific and analytical mental abilities to solve our problems based on accumulated experience and knowledge. It is strictly necessary today that Arabs seek rational and practical solutions to their problems and crises, many of which are caused by the authoritarian views of politicians and rulers or religious leaders.

Worthwhile democratic experiments

This logic is not alien to nearby experiments which, contrary to some belief, are not influenced by Western culture. This refers to Asian experiments which undertook a creative initiative for solving their political, social and economic problems and promoting citizens interests. These experiments have become a source of inspiration for many countries in the area of development and scientific, industrial and technological advances, having brought about a systematic political and democratic transformation. This is the case in India, Indonesia, Singapore and other east-Asian countries, as well as in Turkey, which we referred to its worthwhile experiment in human and economic development and multi-party democratic system in a previous Talk.

No doubt that liberal, multi-party political entities are highly qualified to bring about democratic transformation, but that has long been deliberately delayed by Arab government authorities in the pre-uprising era. These obstacles have severely undermined such entities and, consequently, their duty to reinforce political multiplicity and promote a culture of democracy. In this way, the public have become subjected to two trends: First, that of the government authorities offering incentives and personal gains to guarantee loyalty, second, those bearing popular slogans promising a society of justice and bounty. Meanwhile, liberal party movements have become fragile, inactive entities unable to influence individuals or society.

Nascent liberal political entities with their modest development following the Arab uprisings, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, should benefit from the above experiments in their endeavour to influence the public through a new political discourse addressing ordinary citizens rather than the West or competitors, which translate abstract political ideals into feasible programmes which provide security and decent living conditions for large sectors of the population.

Between two democracies

Generally speaking, looking at the so-called democracy in the Arab world shows two basic experiments: First, the one carried out under Western colonialism and has almost been cancelled by national governments after independence, second, the one conducted after independence and has all but failed because it was based on inhibiting general freedoms and people s freedom of choice and holding all powers political, security and financial. Post-colonialism national governments required to provide freedom, security and wealth to citizens have thus become an authoritarian, more repressive rule, holding the reins of power, wealth and security against society, which has ultimately led to the collapse of these regimes at the hands of the Arab uprisings.

As we are today increasingly preoccupied with talk about the Arab Spring, which entails discussing the new concepts of government and the foundations of alternative real democracy, an atmosphere of confusion still prevails in the countries which have undergone change resulting from the rise of conservative movements or their joining youth movements and secular and other forces which have led the rebellion and change movements. These movements are attempting to strike a balance between a fundamentalist discourse and traditions, and promises of multiplicity and freedom once they are part of a power-sharing system.

Being excessively optimistic that democratic transformation is close at hand seems unrealistic under the current political and social conditions in the entire Arab world. The road to democracy is long and requires considerable hard work and effort. Democracy is not created by a decree or a resolution, but it is an on-going task performed by philosophers, legal experts, artists, intellectuals, politicians, economists and businessmen to rebuild societies which have recently been liberated from dictatorship and totalitarian regimes.

(Translated by Dr Shaaban Afifi)

 

Sulaiman Al-Askary





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