04931cam a2200601 i 4500 23238198 BJBSDDR 20251015131255.0 a|||||r|||| 00| 0 ta 020525s2022 nyu rb 001 0 eng d 2023278256 GBC2J9326 bnb 020800156 Uk 9780197579466 0197579469 (OCoLC)on1348449020 DEW eng rda BJBSDRD OCLCF TOH TXI NBO TFW UPM IAD UKMGB PWQ YDX BDX P$H OCL DLC eng lccopycat aw----- n-us--- JQ 1758 H216p 2022 321.8 Hamid, Shadi, 1983- 41925 The problem of democracy : America, the Middle East, and the rise and fall of an idea / Shadi Hamid. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2022 299 pages 25 cm. text txt rdacontent unmediated n rdamedia volume nc rdacarrier Business book summary Shadi Hamid reimagines the ongoing debate on democracy's merits and proposes an ambitious agenda for reviving the lost art of democracy promotion in the world's most undemocratic regions. Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-284) and index. Is democracy worth supporting? -- Democratic minimalism in theory and practice -- The problem of Islam -- Democratic dilemmas : Egypt, Jordan, Algeria -- The American veto -- Culture versus interests -- Anti-despotism or democracy promotion? -- Islamists in government -- On hypocrisy -- On power. What happens when democracy produces bad outcomes? Is democracy good because of its outcomes or despite them? This democratic dilemma is one of the most persistent, vexing problems for America abroad, particularly in the Middle East--we want democracy in theory but not necessarily in practice. When Islamist parties rise to power through free elections, the United States has too often been ambivalent or opposed, preferring instead pliable dictators. With this legacy of democratic disrespect in mind, and drawing on new interviews with top American officials, Shadi Hamid explores universal questions of morality, power, and hypocrisy. Why has the United States failed so completely to live up to its own stated ideals in the Arab world? And is it possible for it to change? In The Problem of Democracy, Hamid offers an ambitious reimagining of this ongoing debate and argues for democratic minimalism as a path to resolving democratic dilemmas in the Middle East and beyond. In the seemingly eternal tension between democracy and liberalism, recognized by the ancient Greeks and the American founders alike, it may be time to prioritize one over the other, rather than acting as if the two are intertwined when increasingly they are not. At the end of the Cold War, the democratic idea was victorious, so much so that it took on more meaning than it could bear. Democracy became a means to other ends, whether it was liberalism, economic development, or cultural progress. What if, instead, democracy was reconceptualized as its own end? What if the people are right even when they're wrong? The problem of democracy is no longer just a Middle Eastern problem. The polarizing effects of identity, culture, and religion are now haunting the world's oldest democracies. At home, a growing number of Americans are realizing that respecting election results when the other side wins is easier said than done. To look then at the democratic dilemma abroad is to consider a deeper set of questions around why we believe democracy is good as well as whether we think it is good for other nations and cultures Democracy Middle East. Democracia Medio Oriente 41926 Middle East Politics and government. Medio Oriente Política y gobierno 3891 Middle East Politics and government Religious aspects. America Foreign relations Middle East. Middle East Foreign relations United States. Medio Oriente Relaciones exteriores Estados Unidos 6995 Estados Unidos Relaciones exteriores Medio Oriente 6996 Instructional and educational works. fast (OCoLC)fst01919931 History. fast (OCoLC)fst01411628 Instructional and educational works. lcgft Online version: Hamid, Shadi, 1983- Problem of democracy. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022] 9780197579480 (OCoLC)1346859311 Business book summary 28437 7 cbc copycat 2 ncip 20 y-gencatlg lcc BK 123340 123340 0 0 lcc 0 0 CS BJB BJB CS 2025-05-02 0 JQ 1758 H216p 2022 00000193127 2025-05-02 00:00:00 1 BK