Wacana Pemerintahan Demoktis dan Dinamika Politik di Negeri-negeri Timur Tengah: Saudi Arabia, Yordania, Mesir, Iran, dan Turki

Abstract

Democracy -which means an authority of the people as opposed to that of the
ruler- fair general election, civil supremacy, equality before law, and government
accountability are seemingly inapplicable in Arab countries. Applying democracy and
sustaining it will require what Bernard Lewis calls ?gradual and deliberate change?, which
will take these countries to a reform process from a political autocracy to an open and
competitive political system. The same view is echoed by Robin Wright. To him, democracy
in Arab countries will need a long time to take place. This is because culturally and
socially speaking political freedom and individual participation in politics are hard to
come by in these countries.