Can Democracy ever flourish in a Middle Eastern culture?
541874
iraq has a chance if they let their government run the country without interference fron the religious zealots...by the way..we are not trying to impose democracy on them, we are trying to bring freedom from a tyrant to them..if you think about it..we would have allready been out of there if it wasnt for the fascist terrorists the liberals love making excuses for and trying to appease\niraq has a better educated class of people than most middle east countries and intelligence is a prerequisite for wanting to be free...its only when the religious leaders and civilian leaders and family leaders work in concert to keep their citizens oppressed and out of the loop of information that a society stays behind the world that is succeeding...\nif iraq wqants to come into the 21st century and use information the right way instead of stifling it, then it will eventually become successful
279132
It's been proven time and again that dictatorships don't work out for the west.  They have supported many of them in the past.  As part of their so called "cold war".  They propped them up to keep communism down.\n\nNow they've realised their mistake so they're trying to force west loving democracy on countries, which obviously can't work either.\n\nI think the number one consideration for the US is to be able to trade with a country.  So in that sense they would probably prefer a pro-west dictatorship.\n\nThe European's may be more inclined to let a anti-west democracy go ahead.  But I'm not sure there's such a thing at the moment.  Democracy and West are pretty much the same thing aren't they.\n\nps. I'm from Australia.  We gave kickbacks to Saddam Hussein just so we could sell some wheat.
628858
Democracy spread during the 1990's as a result of the collapse of Communist rule over the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This process was more a feature of the late 1980's and early 1990's. It was also a trend in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and S Korea. Some Arab and African states—notably Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority— moved towards greater liberal democracy in the 1990s and 2000s. As a result of these changes, more than 50% of the world's population lived in democratic regimes in 2000.
575280
Yes it will.The democracy is best as atleast there is scope for improvement.
670813
No,\nBut in order for muslims to accept democracy they have to win it for tehmsleves. Also, the name must be horribly hated by now which has nothing to do with the concept. So we should change it to something like Eorigo. Or something different, just say it to your self "Democracy" it sounds like your asking to be stepped on by a large cockroache.
17729
In my opinion, no.  Those people have been ruled by force for thousands of years.  The strong man will always come in and take power.  Its just the way things are done there.  Perhaps we will establish democracy for a few years, perhaps a decade, but it will eventually revert to dictatorship.
1004503
Hm mm. very interesting point of view.I feel the human race as a whole is closer to the stars than the jungle.However some would like to halt progress in the hopes they can dominate and control the masses.India is one of the more developed cultures in our time with knowledge and reason they dealt with the Taliban destroying 3,000 year old religious shrines.They dealt with the Islamic intrusion in Cashmere region.So I personally feel the odds of India becoming a welcome member of democracy is better than 50/50.Once the seed has been planted it will grow slow at times fast at others but you will never undo it's growth now that it has been tasted it will fight to survive.India's best days are yet to come.I can't say for sure if it is a true democracy however it is trying hard to be one,give it time and it shall be
39849
I guess that depends on what you mean by a culture. There are many places which had basically no government structure, and encountering democracy was just confusing. Democracy itself isn't necessarily going to damage something, but the trappings of our current democratic cultures can interfere with other cultures. Free trade, for example, can cause local communities to be at the mercy of outsiders, when they were living on subsistence prior to that. Changing to a trading culture can cause the local resources to become depleted if population increases around artificial income and outside sources of food, then economic conditions change and the increased population can no longer be supported. Democracy, or come kind of chosen government, vs. a monarchy or dictatorial government is more of a matter of choices by the people. If the people, however, are not informed, or the information they have is wrong, then they could lose their control by voting for things they don't understand, or people who are lying to them. One of the reasons the United States is actually not a democracy, but a republic is so that there are levels of election to counter specific groups. Unfortunately, this system was designed before anyone imagined how powerful that corporate influence could become (buying multiple branches of government, writing laws, being considered 'persons'). Thomas Jefferson's ideal vision was for a country full of small farmers, providing food and resources based on knowledgeable living and care, voting for local representatives and those representatives voting for Federal representatives. This vision was dependent on honesty, intelligence, and fairness, none of which are dominant in today's system. The best example of a culture damaged by democracy is the culture of the self-sufficient person. Democracy demands groupthink. Groupthink leads to propaganda , influence peddling, and the devaluation of the individual in favor of the group. Republicanism (not the kind who are in office now) is supposed to encourage local control of local representatives (feedback by pitchfork, if you will), who, in turn, control their representatives.
919479
Islam and democracy do not mix
78719
No.  All civilization has the mean to change and resurrect itself.  The openness of the Western Civilization helps it to reinvent itself when needed.
574111
No. Iraq will, if at all it sustains democracy, take at least 3 decades to understand the system and get into main stream democratic countries. Religion will be a great hindrance to fully open up like a normal democracy. Situation does not change dramatically and I am not sure if any change at all will be possible.
980179
Is anyone ever ready for democracy?
208134
There's a good idea behind your question, but you've phrased it in such a way that it's very difficult to understand what you're after. \n\nDo you mean, Did the French and US ideas of democracy replace those of other democracies of the 18th century?\n\nThe short answer to that is that there weren't any democracies extant at the time of the drafting of the US constitution. \n\nOr, do you mean, Have other nascent forms of democracy in the last 200 years been challenged and eclipsed by the strength of principles set forth in the US & French constitutions?\n\nIf so, this is probably impossible to answer, since it's hard to imagine a modern democratic system that doesn't derive to some extent from the US and French systems.\n\nThe ancient Greeks invented democracy, but were absorbed into the Roman empire and it disappeared. \n\nHowever, the French and US systems did not erupt in a vacuum. The Swiss are an important example, and democratic values and processes had, at various times, eroded the absolute rule of monarchs.
352346
Yes.\nUntil we have a public that is educated in political machinations and process, democracy is glorified mob rule. While politicians are becoming more secretive, corporations more powerful, and television stretches its influence as a glass teat of apathy, democracy will remain as mob rule- or at least easily manipulated through fear, catering to the selfish and the fearful more than the future.
537870
No. Because even if the violence stops, it is in their culture to oppress women.  So, no I do not believe that there will ever be a real democratic system there.
712094
the answer to your direct question-- is a definite NO. as to the thesis that accompany your question-- it all depends. not all countries are in the same "bag" --humans differ as to their origins ( I mean social and political) and their heritage and their experiences with different types of governments or rulers. we can not and should not over-simplify "democracy" that it is applicable "as is" to all countries. that is wrong and that is why we have so many issues and problems in countries where their applications is resented. to cut short a long conversation -- democracy is the best among the the worst alternatives. but it should be applied with degrees of latitude to that particular nation/government/population -- like all social remedies in life -- it will take time before it bears fruit. hope it helps.
296096
I bet u r not the only one asking this question.... As to whether democracy can work in Iraq, what we need to realise is that democracy can't be forced upon ppl. It is a system by the ppl, for the ppl. So, maybe it will. But to really see whether it does or doesn't, we'll have to wait till Iraq is rid of the foreign occupents...