Just how democratic is the Middle East getting?


If democracy is any more up for a redefinition anywhere, now would be the time and the Middle East would be the place. Events in Iraq and the elections of the Palestians had a contageous effect in other Middle Eastern countries too. For the first time in at least 50 years, we see grassroots demand for updated versions of democracy in countries that have long been dominated by authoritarian regimes; Egyptians have been demanding to be allowed a multi party system, in Lebanon the fall of a strongly Syrian influenced government went accompanied by street rallies and even in Syria, where street bans are most stringent, the people going out on the streets were unusually defyant. What are the chances that the grassroots demand for democracy will actually begin to intersect with supply from home governments?
Go to any Arab country and read the headlines of background sections of newspapers and you