The Challange of Democratic Transitions in the Middle East by Riman Barakat

The Challenge of Democratic Transitions in the Middle East Riman Barakat Riman Barakat is the co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI). She holds graduate degrees in Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs, and her current research focuses on democratization in the Middle East, U.S.-Middle Eastern relations and the interaction of religion with politics.

Given the wave of political transformations that has swept across the Middle East, the region is undoubtedly undergoing chaos and turmoil. With the rise of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the election of President Mohamed Morsi, the deteriorating economic situation and the growing friction between the Coptic and Muslim populations, and the seemingly endless spilling of blood in Syria, the region is becoming volatile ground for further political unrest. If we hypothetically assume that Syria will eventually undergo a democratic process of free and fair elections, there is no guarantee that more civil strife will not follow.

The challenge of democratization in the Middle East will not stop at the achieving of free and fair elections but will tap into some of the many hiccups that long-standing consolidated democracies are facing today.

Economic development, progress and prosperity have become part of what democracy is expected to deliver. Egypt is a good example of how a democratic process of free and fair elections may not deliver a “certain quality of democracy,” especially with regards to human rights. The fact is that democracies, whether stable or unstable, do not necessarily deliver economic prosperity. Finally, the state’s legitimization of the use of force and violence against civilians is becoming increasingly problematic and is leading to the demise of democratic values within many democratic systems. A process of democratization ought to be viewed positively. Yet despite the many underlying reasons that have led to this revolutionary wave in the Middle East, whether regional or global, democracy at its core is facing a crisis. The euphoria that the young generation felt as it stood at the forefront of the revolutionary changes has dissipated, and it is likely to further subside if the situation worsens.

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Changing Criteria for Democracy The economist and Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen has argued that the two goals of democracy and economic prosperity are interconnected and that certain substantive freedoms including “political freedoms,” “economic facilities,” “transparent media” and “security” are preconditions for economic growth. He also views underdevelopment as a denial of the political and civil liberties of individuals and the denial of basic human rights and needs, highlighting the close connection between the two elements of democracy and economic prosperity. The expectation that democracy exists to deliver development, freedoms and social justice is becoming both regional and global. The crisis of liberal democracies, let alone states that are transitioning into democracy, centers around the inability of states to deliver economic prosperity. The social protests in Israel were mainly about the right to affordable housing and other social benefits. Similarly with Egypt — apart from the hopes and demands of the young middle class for civil liberties — the average man on the street rallied around the demands for proper access to food, shelter and jobs.

Who Are Today’s Younger Generation?

The power of the younger generation has unequivocally manifested itself in the last few years, as we witnessed revolutionary and civil society activism that relied heavily on the viral use of social media. The exposure of the young middle-class civil society activists to the world via new media technologies, as well as their ability to connect with different age groups from various countries throughout the world, have created a global community of activism and social protests. The smartphone revolution making the world available only a click or a swipe away has certainly created a different form of sharing of knowledge and values. Yet the tools that this younger generation has acquired, though they have been instrumental in creating this worldwide pressure and momentum, have proven insufficient in carrying out the full declared goals.

Indeed, as most social processes take a long time to unfold, the demands for freedoms and civil liberties have been heavily contested, if not actively opposed, by the Morsi regime. The election results in Egypt have not turned out according to liberal wishes. It is clear that the younger generation of middle-class Egyptians certainly prizes civil liberties and values, whereas the larger segment of society of the economically disadvantaged is seeking adequate shelter and basic human needs. A value system of civil liberties and rights ought to be accompanied by a human development plan in order 54

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to sustain and ensure the granting of those rights.

The younger generation of leadership has taken up many roles, responsibilities, risks and challenges in order to transform their own fate and to deliver change within their own society and vis-à-vis their own governments. There are tensions and gaps between the demands and changes that the younger generation aspires to and the wider social demands that the people at large expect. The younger generation of leaders lacks the proper instruments to create a breakthrough beyond the institutional stagnation that their long-standing governments have perpetuated. Persistent efforts through the use of social media and the like are not sufficient to fully transform decades of institutional systems. The younger generation faces many challenges, both in relation to democracy and its values, as well as with creating a prosperous future for themselves and for their respective countries. Part of the characterization of this young generation of educated mid-career professionals is that they are way too idealistic for their own good. Many have the will and vision but do not yet have the means and tools to achieve their purposes.

Among the young Egyptians’ hopes at the start of the revolution was to see a society that offers social and economic mobility and deliver various freedoms, including freedom of speech and expression, without being threatened by arbitrary injustices or illegitimate use of force by the state against its citizens.

As in many revolutions, the younger generation, whether students or mid-career professionals, is a key agent for carrying out revolutions and street protests, demanding human rights, freedom of speech and civil liberties from the state and calling for equal access to jobs, professional and educational opportunities. The younger generation in the region has expressed anger with the state in various forms. The lack of democratic values is one source of this anger, and that puts into question the accountability of the state regarding the illegitimate use of force and the expanded powers of the state. Another factor that underlies those democratic transitions is the lack of economic opportunity and the fulfillment of basic human needs such as shelter, access to jobs, health care and education. Corruption of the state is another reason that frequently sparks the anger of younger, globalized middle-class Middle Eastern citizens, leading them to criticize their state and demand accountability and transparency — the sense that many democratic states are interested in the façade of democracy and not in its content and values, and the dishonesty, if not hypocrisy, of states, especially when it comes to favoring their own security and economic ties over the values of democracy, human rights and civil liberties. What the younger generation 18.4 55

is interested in now are the values of democracy beyond the process of free and fair elections.

The Palestinian Case and Democracy While Egypt and Syria are in turmoil, our Palestinian population is still far from calling for the democratization of the Palestinian political system.

The free and fair elections which took place in Gaza and the West Bank in 2005 and 2006 demonstrated nothing but the fact that democracy might well deliver outcomes that we eventually won’t like. Similarly, the free and fair elections that have taken place in Egypt which granted power to the Muslim Brotherhood rule is certainly a disappointment for many. In the Palestinian case, nonviolent political activism and protest focus mainly on ending the occupation and does not prioritize in any way internal democratic transformation. It does not focus on the nature of what a process of free and fair elections constitutes or on the need to provide substantive values and freedoms. What young Palestinian nonviolent activists are hoping to achieve through the global BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign is to end the occupation and to end the injustices that have been committed against the Palestinians.

Many of my Palestinian friends are expressing in so many ways their criticism of the current Palestinian establishment, yet they often feel at a loss when their internal political struggles and demands for civil liberties are accompanied and complicated by the fact that there is occupation in the

Egypt — apart from the hopes and demands of the young middle class for civil liberties — the average man on the street rallied around the demands for proper access to food, shelter and jobs.

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West Bank. Thus they defer the internal challenges and demands to a later stage, so that if and when they achieve liberation from occupation, they can then examine internal issues. Certainly, the problematic developments in various countries in the Middle East, which demonstrate nothing but civil strife, present a scary scenario for the Palestinian population. In a way, the post-election outcome and turmoil that Egypt, Syria and perhaps Lebanon are experiencing have been seen before in the conflicts between Fateh and Hamas immediately after the 2005 and 2006 elections. Hence, the answer lies here in the need to focus not so much on the democratic processes of free and fair elections, but rather on the values of democracy that prioritize free self-expression and the strengthening of media institutions and other institutions that lead to democratic practices in the daily lives of people and their experiences and in the value systems that they hold.

The Israeli Case And finally, what many young Israelis want from the state is for the state to meet economic needs, including basic human security needs such as adequate shelter and access to jobs. But many young Israelis are also starting to question a system of democracy that exists alongside Israeli occupation and military rule in the West Bank.

Democracy and the Illegitimate Use of Force In both the cases of Egypt and Israel, the military poses challenges to democracy. In the case of Israel, there are many who question the legitimacy of a democracy that does not exercise democratic and human rights values beyond the Green Line. In Egypt state violence and the use of force against citizens, including rape and other repressive practices, has during different periods of the transformation shed light on the fact that the Egyptian regime has for many years kept a faรงade of democracy without any real accounting for human rights.

Prior to the Arab Spring, stability was the most essential priority in the region, and it was enforced through military rule. Given the developments that have transpired since the revolution began in Tahrir Square, it is not yet clear if Egyptian society is prepared to accept the relative instability inherent in democracy for the sake of new priorities.

Conquering the Giant and Mini-Despots within Us The challenges that face the Middle East today call for decisions to be made about the kind of society each country aspires to be. There is a strong current advocating for the Islamization of political life in those countries.

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It may take a while for the large segment of the population that cherishes religious values to realize that the governance of a country requires more than just Islamic values but needs to be aided by a pragmatic strategy for economic and human development.

What the younger generation ought to focus on, and which may take time, is gradual and systematic social change that has content. This content could include a strategy to promote values and practices of human rights and various freedoms that will permeate through all levels of society, from family, schools, government structures, etc. Surely the Morsi regime realizes today the power of the media and is therefore striving to suppress the rising voices of dissent. However, voices of dissent, both in the Egyptian and the Palestinian cases, need to uphold the values that they preach. When, for example, the Palestinian anti-normalization campaigns oppose Palestinians and Israelis working together to create constructive bridges for the purpose of ending the occupation and creating a just and sustainable solution to the conflict, they ought to realize that in taking a position that they deem noble, they are depriving others of their right to self-expression and their right to act freely. When Palestinians protest against U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit or the Egyptian mufti’s visit for that matter, they ought to adopt language and symbols that adhere to values of respect for themselves and others. People may have thought that it is this despot or that despot who is standing between us and our achieving democratic values and freedoms.

But the fact of the matter is that the giant despots have created in us “minidespots” who aspire to nothing but power over each other. This description is true of the state of fragmentation in Palestinian society and the struggle for power between the different factions, and in many ways it penetrates into different levels and institutions. To conquer the giant and the mini-despots we ought to engage in trying to create a true sense of community that is strengthened by human rights values and respects freedoms of all different kinds. Freedom from the Israeli occupation for Palestinians is of course an important prerequisite, but once that external enemy disappears, we will be left with ourselves. There is therefore a need for all countries seeking transitions to engage in an exercise of genuine internal self-examination, and they ought to realize that just as institutions of force and oppression are established and strengthened, so are institutions for democratic values and freedoms.

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