Egyptian Elections

CSM had two pieces on the Egyptian elections this week. The first one noted that these elections as opposed to those in the past were pretty fair. Since they were fair CSM also notes that the Muslim Brotherhood is on the rise. This makes the Copts feel crappy and the women neglected. In case you have no clue what these elections are about check out CFR. They'll explain the significance of the elections and detail the major players. In the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs F. Gregory Gause III (I should hate him just for having such a snotty name) said that democracy promotion in the MidEast may not be the way to go for the US:

Even if democracy were achieved in the Middle East, what kind of governments would it produce? Would they cooperate with the United States on important policy objectives besides curbing terrorism, such as advancing the Arab-Israeli peace process, maintaining security in the Persian Gulf, and ensuring steady supplies of oil? No one can predict the course a new democracy will take, but based on public opinion surveys and recent elections in the Arab world, the advent of democracy there seems likely to produce new Islamist governments that would be much less willing to cooperate with the United States than are the current authoritarian rulers.

The answers to these questions should give Washington pause. The Bush administration's democracy initiative can be defended as an effort to spread American democratic values at any cost, or as a long-term gamble that even if Islamists do come to power, the realities of governance will moderate them or the public will grow disillusioned with them. The emphasis on electoral democracy will not, however, serve immediate U.S. interests either in the war on terrorism or in other important Middle East policies.

It is thus time to rethink the U.S. emphasis on democracy promotion in the Arab world. Rather than push for quick elections, the United States should instead focus its energy on encouraging the development of secular, nationalist, and liberal political organizations that could compete on an equal footing with Islamist parties. Only by doing so can Washington help ensure that when elections finally do occur, the results are more in line with U.S. interests.