Brookings Press Blog

Freedom's Unsteady March

America’s Role in Building Arab Democracy

President George W. Bush intended to bring democracy to the Middle East, but the early results were dispiriting. After stalemate in Iraq and the electoral success of Hamas, many observers concluded that the pursuit of Arab democracy was a fool's errand. Despite these setbacks, Tamara Cofman Wittes argues that democracy promotion in the Arab world remains an essential component of any strategy to achieve long-term American goals in that critical region.

Freedom's Unsteady March shows why America cannot afford to be neutral or passive in the face of the momentous changes taking place in Arab states and why it must wield its power and influence in support of democratic reform. Wittes also dissects the Bush administration's failure to advance freedom in the Middle East. She diagnoses the roots of America's ambivalence about Arab democracy, and shows how to confront more honestly the risks of change and act more effectively to contain them.

On May 1, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host Wittes for a discussion of this book.

- Learn more about Freedom’s Unsteady March.

- Learn more about the May 1 event at Brookings.

Good Anthropology, Bad Islam?

The Pitfalls of Steamrolling the Muslim World

Two of the students that traveled with Akbar Ahmed during his Journey into Islam have written a working paper expanding on the material in the book. Frankie Martin and Hailey Woldt address the current crisis in Waziristan and suggest a new way forward for the United States and the Muslim world.

- Read the paper.

- Learn more about Journey into Islam.

U.S. Strategy in Iraq

Ivo Daalder discusses this important issue on the Diane Rehm Show

Brookings senior fellow Ivo Daalder offered up his expertise in a discussion of U.S. strategy in Iraq on the Diane Rehm Show on Thursday. The discussion, which also included Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations and Dan Senor, former Bush Administration foreign policy advisor, apprised the current situation in Iraq, and examined the military strategy options offered up by the leading presidential candidates.

Daalder is the author or coauthor of several Brookings titles, including most recently Beyond Preemption: Force and Legitimacy in a Changing World and Crescent of Crisis: U.S.-European Strategy for the Greater Middle East.

- Listen to "U.S. Strategy in Iraq" on the Diane Rehm show.

- Learn more about Beyond Preemption.

- Learn more about Crescent of Crisis.

Journey into Islam Update

Author Akbar Ahmed keeps a busy schedule promoting his book in the U.S.

Renowned Islamic scholar Akbar Ahmed continues to garner attention for his recently published Journey into Islam. On July 25, he spoke at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, and his speech is now available as a podcast. His July 28 appearance at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, DC, was a great success. Dr. Ahmed, as well as three of the four students who accompanied him on the journey chronicled in the book, addressed a crowd of over 200 people. He answered questions from the audience and stayed afterward to autograph books. The event is now available for viewing on FORA.tv. Ahmed, his student research assistants, and Journey into Islam were also featured in the August 2 International Herald Tribune.

Dr. Ahmed is certain to remain busy in the coming days. He will appear on PBS’s “Tavis Smiley Show” August 16. On August 20, he will be interviewed by Milt Rosenberg on Chicago’s WGN Radio program “Extension 720”. He will also be a guest on WNYC Radio’s “Leonard Lopate Show” in New York City on August 22.

- Learn more about Journey into Islam.

Worst of the Worst

New book from Brookings and the World Peace Foundation examines repressive and rogue nations

Repressive regimes tyrannize their own citizens and threaten global stability and order. Worst of the Worst identifies and characterizes the world’s most odious states and singles out which repressors are aggressive and, hence, can truly be called rogues. Robert I. Rotberg and his colleagues define the actions that constitute repression and propose a method of measuring human rights violations. They offer an index of nation-state repressiveness, classifying “gross repressors,” “high repressors,” and “aggressive repressors” or “rogues” on a ten-point scale. Based on arms and drug trafficking, support of terror, possession of weapons of mass destruction, and crossborder attacks, this valuable diagnostic tool will guide the international community in crafting effective policies to deal with injustice in the developing world. The repressors and rogues profiled include Belarus, Burma, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Syria, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.

- Learn more about Worst of the Worst.

Beyond Preemption

New book examines force and legitimacy in a changing world

America’s recent wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq have raised profound questions about military force: When is its use justifiable? For what purpose? Who should make the decision on whether to go to war?

Beyond Preemption, moves this debate forward with thoughtful discussion of what these guidelines should be and how they apply in the face of today’s most pressing geopolitical challenges: terrorism, WMD proliferation, and humanitarian emergencies. Brookings senior fellow Ivo Daalder and his colleagues draw on three years of crossnational dialogue with politicians, military officials and strategists, and international lawyers in presenting specific proposals on forging a new international consensus regarding preemption and the proper use of force in today’s world.

- Learn more about Beyond Preemption.

The Culture Gap

Why the West Must Journey Into Islam

The U.S. military has recently recognized the culture gap between the West and the Muslim world as detrimental to the War on Terror.  In fact, it now requires cultural training classes for officers in the region (See CSMonitor.com, “What US wants in its troops: culture savvy”) in order to prepare them for the cultural traditions and practices they will encounter.

In this month’s AARP The Magazine (“Talking Can Stop Hate”), Brookings author Akbar Ahmed argues for a broader cultural understanding between the two regions. He urges that, “For the United States, understanding Muslims is not a luxury. It is an imperative.” Ahmed believes that tensions between Western nations and the Muslim world would diminish through dialogue and understanding, and this awareness could pave the road for the two cultures to coexist peacefully and respectfully.

Ahmed bases his opinions on a recent journey into the three major regions of the Muslim world: the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, and his meetings with a diverse group of people, ranging from students and sheiks to the President of Pakistan.  The goal of his trip, he says, was “to change opinions and to better understand Muslim culture—and to show a side of the United States that Muslims rarely see.”  As he elaborates in his newest book, Journey Into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization, Ahmed sought to understand the experiences and perceptions of ordinary Muslims, particularly regarding the West and globalization.  While he did find high levels of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism and a widespread perception that Islam is under attack from the West, he also brought back reason to hope for a lasting peace between Islam and the West. 

-Learn more about Journey Into Islam.

Essential Reading

Building A New Afghanistan

After the Taliban claimed responsibility for this week's attack outside a U.S. air base that Vice President Cheney was visiting in Afghanistan, many are questioning the stability of the country and there are growing concerns about the strength of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. As the The New York Times reported on Wednesday, “The audacity of a suicide-bomb attack on Tuesday at the gates of the main American base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney underscores why President Bush sent him there — a deepening American concern that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are resurgent.” 

Not only were there more than 100 suicide bombings in Afghanistan last year alone, but the latest US report on narcotics says that opium production in the nation hit a record high last year.  Clearly, the narcotics trade is having a serious impact on the country’s stability and security. 

In the new book Building A New Afghanistan, Robert Rotberg and his colleagues offer a blueprint for precisely how to understand and address this problem.  The book argues that the future success of state building in Afghanistan depends on reducing its dependence on the opium trade and enhancing its economic status.  Since many of Afghanistan's security problems are related to poppy growing, opium and heroin production, and drug trafficking, Building A New Afghanistan suggests controversial new alternatives to immediate eradication, which is foolish and counter-productive. These options include monetary incentives for growing wheat, a viable local crop. Greater wheat production would feed hungry Afghans while reducing narco-trafficking and the terror, like this week’s attack, that comes with it.

- Learn more about Building A New Afghanistan.