Truck and Barter

"The incompetence and authoritarianism of many Muslim and Middle Eastern governments fosters Islamist radicalism. These governments are overwhelmingly unelected, unaccountable, and corrupt; they provide no legitimate outlet for youth discontent. Unsurprisingly, these governments are widely despised by their young people. The old, largely nationalist, ideologies of these governments have failed to deliver either material goods or a sense of dignity either at home or abroad. The half-century failure of Arab states to resolve the Palestinian situation and the inability of Pakistan to ease the lot of Kashmiri Muslims have contributed to the evident corrosion of regimes’ legitimacy in the eyes of youth. Nationalism has not disappeared; it has been assimilated into the Islamists’ discourse. And, as George Orwell once said, “the nationalism of defeated peoples is necessarily revengeful and short-sighted”.

- Professor Alan Richards, “Explaining the Appeal of Islamic Radicals”

Tom Palmer quotes Mancur Olson, referring to the ongoing saga in Egypt where two judges are under investigation for accusing the government of meddling in the last parliamentary elections;

“Interestingly, the conditions that are needed to have the individual rights needed for maximum economic development are exactly the same conditions that are needed to have a lasting democracy. Obviously, a democracy is not viable if individuals, including the leading rivals of the administration in power, lack the rights to free speech and to security for their property and contracts or if the rule of law is not followed even when it calls for the current administration to leave office. Thus the same court system, independent judiciary, and respect for law and individual rights that are needed for a lasting democracy are also required for security of property and contract rights.”

The rule of law and an independent judiciary is a joke in a lot of these countries. Would democracy work in Middle East? I think it would remain a question unanswered for a long time to come.

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