(Globe and Mail-Canada) Doug Saunders - The violent events that reached a climax in Tunis on Friday aren't just the first full-fledged popular revolution the world has seen in some time - they're a sudden tear in the fabric of the Arab world, an irreparable rupture in the slick logic that has held two dozen countries in half-development limbo for generations. To most outside observers, the Tunisian uprising seemed to appear from nowhere. The people - and these were clearly ordinary citizens, not bearded Islamists or foreign-funded elites - won the day. In the past, we've said that authoritarian leadership is part of Arabic culture and tradition and is, therefore, broadly accepted by Arabs in ways it wouldn't be by anyone else. And that the democratic option would inevitably lead to rule by radical Islamists. These two myths have led the West to provide backing, legitimacy and investment to Arab dictators for decades.
2011-01-17 07:37:32Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive