The struggle for democracy within the Arab world is one on which the fate of America, and perhaps the whole world, now rests. Still, how accurate is our understanding of Arab society, and how reasonable are our expectations? Experience has taught us to assume repressive regimes will fall and glorious freedom will rise up in a way that closely mirrors the former Soviet bloc countries, despite a cavalcade of culture differences.
Still, aren’t there many who long for democracy and freedom? By looking at what Arabs are actually saying, can Americans better understand the dynamics among the reformers, the regimes, and the radicals? In his insightful new book, THE LONG WAR FOR FREEDOM: The Arab Struggle For Democracy In The Middle East (Wiley; November 2005; ISBN 0-471-73907-4; $25.95 Cloth) author Barry Rubin strives to find answers to these questions by closely looking at the most powerful voices for liberty in the Arab world.
Rubin delves into contemporary debates on the Arab street about controversial political issues. He shows how sides with totally opposite views claim to truly represent Islam, the ways Israel serves as an excuse and America as a scapegoat, and the fundamental problems at the heart of most Arab societies. He examines the urgent issues surrounding the ways American interventions of any kind can help, or hurt, the progress Arab activists are risking their lives to achieve.
THE LONG WAR FOR FREEDOM portrays the unwavering sense of faith and optimism these hardworking reformers display, despite the frustrations and setbacks they face. While Rubin stresses all the difficulties and opposition reformers face, he also shows how the Middle East, and perhaps the world, can only find peace if they succeed.
The premise of U.S. policy since 9/11 is that we can win the war on terrorism by introducing democratic reform in the Middle East. But does democracy have any base of support in the Muslim world? THE LONG WAR FOR FREEDOM is an eye-opening book that examines the history of reform in the Arab world and shows how hostile clerics, government oppression, and entrenched cultural attitudes have thwarted democratic impulses-until now. It profiles the courageous Middle Eastern activists and thinkers who have worked to introduce reforms in their native lands-and analyzes their complicated current chances of success in the wake of the American presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Barry Rubin is the editor of the Middle Eastern Review of International Affairs and the Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Interdisciplinary University in Israel. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and numerous other publications. Dr. Rubin has appeared on Nightline, Face the Nation, Larry King
Live, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. He is currently a visiting professor at American University, in Washington, DC. He is a member of SPME.
THE LONG WAR FOR FREEDOM:
The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East By Barry Rubin
Wiley Publication Date: November 2005
$25.95/Cloth ISBN: 0-471-73901-4
The book can be purchased through SPME Mart at spme.org/spmemart.html at a savings of $8.82 (34%) and a percentage of the sale goes to help SPME.
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