Arab world too backward for democracy

The instant democratization of Arab countries, as favored by President Bush, would result in the instant takeover of those countries by Islamists, according to Georgie Anne Geyer. The problem is the Arab world’s lack of a middle class devoted to the rule of law, combined with its staggering lack of economic development. In 1999 the GDP of all the Arab countries combined, $531.2 billion, was lower than that of a single European country, Spain, which had a GDP of $595.5 billion.
Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 13, 2002 11:54 AM | Send