إشكالية إدارة رئيس الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية جورج بوش في دمقرطة "الشرق الأوسط الكبير" : المبادرات- المعوقات- المستقبل

Abstract EN

An Assessment of the Bush Administration’s Democratization of the Greater Middle East and North Africa: The Initiatives, The Challenges & the Future This study attempts to explore in an analytical methodological approach the Bush administration’s strategy to democratize and push the Greater Middle East and North Africa region towards political reforms, accountability and rule of law.

In doing so the Bush administration has abandoned more than six decades of a staple US policy vi a vie the region of trading as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a candid rebuke of the old US policy of “trading democracy and freedom for security and stability and we have achieved neither.” This study seeks to find out the reason behind the change of the US policy towards the region? Is this shift a genuine and serious one or just an aberration and a defensive outburst as a response to the 9/11 2001 terrorist attacks in the US? In a naive thinking the Neoconservative ideology postulate if we democratize the Arab countries, along with intelligence and cooperation from the region’s states will stymied the flow of terrorism and safeguard the US along with establishing the US as the dominant power to advance its interests and protects its allies.

The study postulates that the US democratization drive was not based on the US’s stated principles, but rather to safeguard its interests in the region.

Likewise, the study implements the “Integrated Approach in Applied Research”, which implements theoretical, applied, historical, statistical and analytical approaches.

The study also highlights the various initiatives which were advanced by the Bush administration along with his European counterparts.

The assessment concludes, by analyzing the reasons for the failed policy, why this strategy failed to spread democracy, why Iraq has failed as a paradigm to be implemented and copied by other countries in the region, why the Bush administration in its last two years in office back-paddled its drive towards pushing the region towards democratization and political reforms after the pallet boxes in many countries in the region propelled the Islamists to power to make them the leaders of the opposition which convinced the Bush administration to reverse course.

The study forecasts the future of the Obama administration approach regarding its democracy drive in region to be guarded and not a priority.

In its modest approach and reconciliation gestures, the push for political reforms and democratization will not be on its agenda.