The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

West must, when invited, devote more resources to the development of four areas: a free press, liberal organi- zations, a fair judiciary and human rights. Although the Arab states are awash with print and electronic media, most of these are official or semiofficial organs. While there has been a recent increase in the number of independent media (electronic and print), the traditional government treatment of unfavorable reporting still inhibits the truly free and unim- peded airing of opinions and open- ended debate. Without freedom of expression, democracy has no legs to stand on. Arab media have been notoriously anti-American and anti-Israeli and have prohibited or repressed free discourse or opposing views that are not endorsed by the government. The West can help to change this by using incentives to persuade Arab regimes of the importance of chang- ing the tone of the media, not so much to improve the West’s dismal image on the Arab streets as to per- mit a freer, more responsible press to flourish as a staple of democracy. The second focus should be on the development of liberal organizations and political parties (which may require years of nurturing) as a new political force. It should by now be abundantly clear that by themselves, free elections neither create nor con- stitute democracy. In fact, when they precede the building of democratic institutions and other prerequisites that sustain democracy, elections are more likely to produce instability and upheaval, especially in countries pre- viously governed by authoritarian regimes. The West, with the United States in the lead, should first assist and encourage the development of liberal organizations in each state in the region to the point where they will be in a position to compete successfully with extremist Islamic groups, which are now both better organized and far more pervasive. In scores of coun- tries in South America, Africa and Eastern Europe (including Russia), elected leaders have gradually amassed more and more dictatorial powers, leaving these countries democratic in name only. Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized NGOs working on human rights and pushed through a new law requiring that they inform the Russian government of any new project before they undertake it. In Uzbekistan, President Islam Karimov has rewritten the constitution to extend his term in office, and is in the process of closing down most Western democracy initiatives. And in Belar- us, President Alexander Lukashenko has forbidden political challengers to appear against him and stifled the development of an independent civil society. In Africa, the same pattern of crushing democratic initiatives is on the rise. In Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has cracked down on the political opposition and signed legislation prohibiting local NGOs from receiving foreign aid. Eritrea has also enacted new laws prohibiting local NGOs from engaging in any work other than relief activities. Although most countries through- out Latin America have successfully democratized, last year the Organi- zation of American States over- whelmingly rejected an American proposal to create a new mechanism to monitor governmental compliance with democratic norms. The leaders of all of these coun- tries were able to do this with impunity because there are no tradi- tional democratic institutions in place or viable political parties to oppose their usurpation of power. Only the emergence of liberal political leaders and institutions with a legitimate chance to compete without fear will permit democracy to grow real roots. Equally critical is the develop- ment of fair and impartial judicia- ries. The United States and other democracies can provide substantial help and guidance in building legal systems that, while consistent with the unique character of each society, remain free, fair and equitable. The experience of the Western nations in training judges and enhancing the judiciary system in Iraq can be duplicated in other Arab and Mus- lim countries. Here too, however, the tradition of a fair and impartial judiciary can only evolve over time, and thus constitu- tional safeguards must be established to protect the integrity and safety of judges and the entire judicial system. The ongoing disturbances in Egypt over the judiciary’s independence illustrate the importance of these measures. No legal system can func- tion equitably and impartially if it becomes in any way subservient to government manipulations. Finally, the rights of the individual should be enshrined constitutionally as a prerequisite for the development of true democracy. The fact that in most Arab societies the rights of the collective generally supersede the rights of the individual adds another impediment to implementing demo- 64 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 7 The biggest challenge the West faces in promoting democracy in the Arab and Muslim worlds is suspicion that these efforts are not genuine.