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DTIC ADA314544: Security and Peace in the Middle East. Experiments ...
by Defense Technical Information Center
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In this excellent essay Lt Col David G. Curdy examines
the prospects for democratic transitions in the Middle
East. He notes that with the conclusion of the cold war,
the basis for US Middle East policy, which had centered
around oil, Israel, and the Soviet Union, should be
reexamined and, perhaps, redesigned. Moreover, major
political events stemming from the 199-91 Gulf War have
reenergized efforts to implement democratic processes
within the region. Colonel Curdy argues that the West has
generally held the view that democracy and Islam are
mutually exclusive and incompatible. However, he notes
that the Islam-based traditions of consultation,
consensus, and independent judgment are being used today
to legitimize the rise of democracy in a number of Arab
states. In opposition to this democratizing trend is the
rise of Islamic radicalism which rejects evolutionary
political change and liberal political formulas. The
clash of these two approaches will severely test US
policy in the Middle East. Contemporaneous with these
political currents is a new phase in resolving the
decades-old Palestinian- Israeli conflict. The
Palestinians' struggle to create a democratic identity
will be key in establishing their economic vitality and
in reassuring Israelis that a Palestinian state will not
be a security threat. Colonel Curdy concludes that the
future challenge for the US will be to foster the view
among Arab states that the US favors democratization
based on Islamic traditions, rather than the imposition
of Western democratic institutions on our Muslim friends.
When democratic Arab nations can coexist with Israel, the
US will have contributed to a basis for regional peace
and stability that it has long sought, both as an ideal
in itself and as instrumental to America's continuing
access to Middle East oil and markets.
Date Published: 2018-04-03 02:01:34
Identifier: DTIC_ADA314544
Item Size: 29707360
Language: english
Media Type: texts
# Topics
DTIC Archive; Curdy, David G.; AIR WA...
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