Democracy Bites Posted by Suzanne Nossel

Daily Kos asks the question in response to Hezbollah's triumph at the polls in southern Lebanon:

So what happens when extremists win free elections throughout the Middle East? Do the wingers still crow about "Democracy is on the march"?

It's a key question.  After all, Hezbollah is now claiming a democratic mandate to hold on to its weapons despite a UN resolution calling for disarmament, and to continue its attacks on Israel.

One argument is that  after the initial flash of success, extremist parties will often find their political fortunes withering under the hot lights of democratic accountability.  While people may vote for them out of religious or political fervor, as democracy takes hold they will be judged on their ability to maintain order and address problems, forcing them to modernize and temper their worst impulses or be run out of office.   

This is the case made by Egyptian human rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who maintains that Islamist groups ought to be invited to participate in democratic processes, provided they agree to adhere to certain minimum standards, including respect for the constitution, for minority parties, and for women.  But in a country with politics as corrupt as Lebanon's, its hard to be sure that the real concerns of ordinary citizens will prevail, even through an ostensibly democratic process.

Hezbollah's victory points to a key part of the GWOE (Global War on Extremism, which is gradually replacing the war on terror as the professed organizing principle of the Bush foreign policy) where Administration has proven woefully deficient:  going beyond the promotion of democracy to position the U.S. and its allies to win the war of ideas that will continue to be waged even in a liberalizing Middle East.

We are losing ground badly on this front.   The Administration seems to have given up on improving America's image in the region (still no sign of Karen Hughes).   Our detention officers, prison guards and interrogators are the de facto frontline of the U.S.'s public diplomacy effort, because we've failed to own up to their misdeeds and we've put forward little in the way of an alternative face for the U.S.

The Administration claims to be convinced that American-style democratic values and the rejection of terror will win out of their own merits.  Meanwhile, extremists are using everything about America's approach to the Arab world to delegitimize these concepts, while at the same time buttressing themselves with demonstrations of popular - and even electoral - support.

The Administration would argue that there's no way of putting a lid on all extremists at once (it was Paul Wolfowitz who called the Iraqi insurgents "a small number of bitter enders"  . . . in October of 2003).  That's true, and it might be comforting provided there was any sign that the U.S. is gaining ground in terms of popular opinion anywhere in the Arab world.

Hezbollah's victory is a powerful illustration of the idea that elections alone do not a true democracy make, and that a push to promote democracy must go far beyond simply holding votes.   The Administration's failure to figure to convincingly implement a much broader strategy for seeding democracy is yet another reason why progressives need to reclaim and redefine democratization as a foreign policy goal.

Comments

[rosignol]

One argument is that after the initial flash of success, extremist parties will often find their political fortunes withering under the hot lights of democratic accountability. While people may vote for them out of religious or political fervor, as democracy takes hold they will be judged on their ability to maintain order and address problems, forcing them to modernize and temper their worst impulses or be run out of office.

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Oh, so *that's* what has happened to the IRA. Riiiiiight.

[Vivek]

Hezbollah's appeal in South Lebanon is a lot like Hamas's appeal in the West Bank and Gaza: both are extremist organizations that do nasty things to their enemies, but which at the same time provide vital public services to the residents of these regions which their governments can't or won't. Until someone else fills in that vacuum, expect such organizations to continue enjoying broad public support.

[Minh-Duc]

The IRA today is far better than it was in the 80s. To ignore that fact is disingenuous. Parties that participate in political process (genuine one) have proven to be less radical and more pragmatic. The Hindu Nationalist is a good example. Today Hizballah's political rhetoric is significantly milder than at its conception.

[rosignol]

Yes, the IRA is better than it was, but the IRA becoming a recognized party (more or less) has basically margnialized the moderate, non-violent parties in Northern Ireland.... and the IRA is still engaging in criminal activity. What has basically happened is that thugs have been legitimized and brought into the political process, but they're still thugs.

I suppose this is improvement, but is it really progress?

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