PREVIOUS POSITIONS and FELLOWSHIPS (original) (raw)
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US Democracy Promotion from Bush to Obama. EUSpring Working Paper No. 1, 15 April 2015
2015
Throughout the twenty-first century the United States (U.S.) has attempted to balance its traditional national security interests, whilst also seeking to promote the long-term transformation of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) towards democracy based on liberal values. With the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks providing a catalyst for policy change, the U.S. has moved away from its twentieth-century policy of pursuing a regional status quo and instinctively balking at political change. Yet, the U.S. has not abandoned its reliance on autocratic regimes that cooperate on more immediate national security interests such as counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, and the free-flow energy sources into the global market. Rather, U.S. democracy promotion in the MENA has become incremental by design and is characterized by its gradualist and often-collaborative nature. U.S. foreign policy in the MENA is, therefore, depicted by a cautious evolutionary stance rather than supportin...
The challenges of democracy and democratisation in Africa and Middle East
2010
In discussions on the spread and prospects of democracy in the global south, Africa and Middle East are often depicted as less democratic, indeed undemocratic, regions. Both are seen as ridden with dictators, monarchies and dynastic rulers. Of course, such generalisations have their own flaws, but there is some truth regarding democratic deficits in the two regions. This piece explores the challenges of democracy in Africa and the Middle East. It asks the following questions: what are the factors militating against democracy? Is democracy a necessary precondition for development in the two regions? How are countries coming to terms with the challenges of democracy and nation-building?
Nic Cheeseman, David M. Anderson and Andrea Scheibler, eds. Routledge Handbook of African Politics. London: Routledge, pp. 404-13., 2013
US Democracy Promotion and Popular Revolutions in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities
Research Paper, 2011
The Middle East is experiencing a process of change through popular uprisings partly as a result of worldwide political awakening. Events in the Middle East, since the last few months, have surprised observers as well as policymakers throughout the world. These issues are matters of concern and opportunities for many international actors, including the United States. A popular backlash has started against American supported dictatorships and repressive regimes throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The popular uprisings have significant aspects of dynamic change in the region and are likely to impact the major international players in the Middle East, especially the US and its policy of democracy promotion. It is, typically, a challenge for US foreign policy which has supported dictators to realize its strategic interests in the region. The US has pursued a dual agenda in the Middle East for decades. On the one hand, it has adopted the policy of democracy promotion, even by use of force, in the Arab world and, on the other hand, categorically supported dictators and repressive regimes. Support for internal reforms in Arab countries has become an integral part of US foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, American foreign policymakers emphasized the broader benefits likely to result from the removal of Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime and the cultivation of a democratic regime in its place.1 It was envisioned by US policymakers that the success of democracy would further enhance democratization and greater economic prosperity in the Middle East, a region characterized, historically, by authoritarian regimes which arguably have contributed in reinforcing chronic political instability, conflict and economic problems.