US Democracy in the Middle East

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Hello all;

Im doing a research on the US Democracy in the Middle East, but since it is such a broad topic, I am looking for sub-topics in order to narrow it down.

What are the possible subtopics for such a title?

Some of what I thought of:

US Democracy in the Middle East - The US Credibility in the Arab Public

US Democracy in the Middle East - The European Involvement
US Democracy in the Middle East - The Lebanese Case

Im looking for more subtopics, could you please help me with some of your suggestions?

Thanks in advance

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How come there is nothing about Iraq ?
If there anything which is remotely close to "Democracy" in the region, and which has to to with the US, I don't see how you managed to skip Iraq.
Now should you chose to adress the issue of US involvement in the Middle East, and not necessarly linked to democracy, god knows you can find quite a few examples..

That's on thing now
And as far as the Lebanese Case is concerned, I would be very cautious on mentioning just the US role in supporting the case, and by no means give it credit for initiating it (which is what I assume you are trying to look for in your research).

The US Credibility in the Arab Public
Now that's an intresting topic, and maybe you could post the development of your research in here as you go.
Anyway, the best of luck with it !

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hmm.. I did not really include the Iraqi case because I dont think it is a democracy when there still is an occupation over there. Having elections with an occupation force is not democratic

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How would you define an occupying force?

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When a country moves it's troops into another one and gets rid of leaders and tells everyone how it's going to be.

Like Iraq, yaknow?

Cycloptichorn

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So, would the occupying force be considered the defacto government then?

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Quote:

So, would the occupying force be considered the defacto government then?

Hmm. I don't want to generalize b/c there could be exceptions to this; we ourselves may be an exception to this in Iraq right now depending on how you define de facto gov't.

I see what you're getting at, though.

Cycloptichorn

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vonderjohn wrote:

hmm.. I did not really include the Iraqi case because I dont think it is a democracy when there still is an occupation over there.

It's quite a shame you don't, for the sake of your research at least.
Should you hold such a stand, I do not see how you could advance in your project of researching US Democracy in the Middle East.
Do not get me wrong for I agree with the point you are making to some extend, but this is not going to get you far on the particular study you chose to undertake.

Sub-topics you mentioned, such as "the European involvement" and "Us credibility in the Arab public" hardly have anything to do with "Us Democracy in the Middle East".

What I am saying is that maybe you should think of addressing this topic from a different angle.

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Cycloptichorn wrote:

Quote:
So, would the occupying force be considered the defacto government then?

I see what you're getting at, though.

I don't

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It's A>B>C.

IF the US is a democracy,

AND the US is the de facto ruler of Iraq while we are occupying them,

THEN the rulers of Iraq are Democratic as well; and should be included in the study.

At least that's what I thought he meant.

Cycloptichorn

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No, that's not it at all.

The US is NOT acting as the de facto government by any means. They are acting more as a well armed, well-disciplined police force.

Iraq has elected an interim government responsible for the creation of a constitution and a permanent govt.

The US is no longer an occupying force in Iraq. That was my point.

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McGentrix wrote:

No, that's not it at all.

The US is NOT acting as the de facto government by any means. They are acting more as a well armed, well-disciplined police force.

Iraq has elected an interim government responsible for the creation of a constitution and a permanent govt.

The US is no longer an occupying force in Iraq. That was my point.

IMO, this is a bit of a stretch at this point yet. The Intrim Government in Iraq is at best administrative only. They could pass all the reolutions and laws they'd like right now but they don't have any way to really enforce any of them.

The US forces are the only realistic form of control of any sort of social order right now.

That may all change in a year or two but we are still an occupying force right now.

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Re: US Democracy in the Middle East

vonderjohn wrote:

Im doing a research on the US Democracy in the Middle East, but since it is such a broad topic, I am looking for sub-topics in order to narrow it down.

This is a pretty vague starting point here. What do you mean by "US Democracy in the Middle East"?

Are you trying to mean a US form/style of Democracy?

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Here are some:

US Democracy in the Middle East - Economic ramifications for US
US Democracy in the Middle East - Economic ramifications for the region
US Democracy in the Middle East - The role of Petroleum and other energy sources
US Democracy in the Middle East - Approaches to non-democratic allies
US Democracy in the Middle East - Approaches to democratic adversaries
US Democracy in the Middle East - Cost/benefit analysis of military intervention short/long term
US Democracy in the Middle East - Role of education and civic societies
US Democracy in the Middle East - Pros and cons of interventionism

There is another active thread related to this:
Democratisation in the Middle East - the debate

Hope it helps

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gravy ... EXCELLENT reply...exrtemely useful.. I thank you so much. You pointed out subtopics which neither did I , my friends or the ones who replied to this thread have thought of. Thanks again.

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from where did u get those subtopics gravy?

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gravy wrote:

Here are some:

US Democracy in the Middle East - Economic ramifications for US
US Democracy in the Middle East - Economic ramifications for the region
US Democracy in the Middle East - The role of Petroleum and other energy sources
US Democracy in the Middle East - Approaches to non-democratic allies
US Democracy in the Middle East - Approaches to democratic adversaries
US Democracy in the Middle East - Cost/benefit analysis of military intervention short/long term
US Democracy in the Middle East - Role of education and civic societies
US Democracy in the Middle East - Pros and cons of interventionism

There is another active thread related to this:
Democratisation in the Middle East - the debate

Hope it helps

I believe a few critical points of view or study would also include:

US Democracy in the Middle East - History of democracy in Islam and Sharia Law
Subtopics: Islam and Sharia Law in Tunisia
Islam and Sharia Law in Turkey
Islam and Sharia Law in Saudi Arabia
Islam and Sharia Law in Lebanon
Islam and Sharia Law in Afghanistan

All of these above have very different approaches to democracy, both historically and in the present.

In the same vein, the current governments of the Middle East could also be related to:

US Democracy in the Middle East - History of secular fascism; communism; and the Baathists

The only way to try to understand a possible adoption of US Democracy in the Middle East is to try and understand the secular and religious governmental histories of the various countries in the Middle East

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(you're welcome vonderjohn, I just jotted them down from my head. I don't know where they got in there from).

I think Moishe3rd brings up an important aspect of this topic, which is the role of organized religion. In this context (and his entry) being Islam.

I also think studying existing political forms of gov't (as Moishe3rd aptly points out) and the US's role in their prosperity or demise is also worthy of study.

Of course, the unspoken "elephant in the room" I excluded from my previous post is the US's role vis-a-vis Israel, factual as well as perceived. This subtopic also touches on many of the aforementioned subtopics, including secularism, role of religion in politics, sub-democratization, etc. This topic, as central as it is to the core of the discussion of US democracy in middle ease is a very sensitive topic and tends to polarize and derail every such discussion.

On the other hand, to omit an impartial analysis (good luck) of that sub-topic will invariably render such a study incomplete (at least to me).

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vonderjohn wrote:

hmm.. I did not really include the Iraqi case because I dont think it is a democracy when there still is an occupation over there. Having elections with an occupation force is not democratic

As an abstract statement, this is not completely true.

Regardless of whether Iraq fits the model or not, if the inhabitants of some given country elect their government, if the government then rules, and if the occupier makes no effort to influence the vote or challenge the outcome, then it would be a democracy even though occupied. If these things were only partially true, then the country would be a partial or imperfect democracy.

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Brandon9000 wrote:

and if the occupier makes no effort to influence the vote or challenge the outcome

What makes you so sure the occupier didnt exercise influence on the voters during,before and after the elections?

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US Democracy in the Middle East

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