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the modern focus has been on the larger nations in the region due to the larger shared strategic interests these nations represent. The complications have arisen as these nations exist primarily due to construction of nations by Europe not by the needs of the populace or the interests of the general population. Democratization is by definition (in this region) nation building. If the focus is to remain on these nations, then the immediate goal should be to encourage nationalism apart from fascism (nationalism in it's extreme form) in the populations of these nations.

Machiavelli stated the easiest method to achieve such unity is to unite behind a common enemy. The governments of the region have effectively done this due to the most recent active intervention of Europe in the creation of Israel. The problem that has caused such consternation is that this has become less of a nationalist focus and more of a religious focus. The various governments of the region must be encouraged to take active steps to assert secular authority and convert this issue from religious to secular.

The assertion that the Israeli question must be resolved prior to any development of democratic institutions in the Middle East is a red herring. It could be suggested that in many cases the very avarice of the "middle Eastern" street concerning the Israeli question is what is holding many of these nations together.

The fundamental problem is that the key institutions of democracy do not exist in many of these nations. If democracies are to develop, the institutions required to support them must be fostered so that the governments of the region must react to the economic influence of a middle class led by an educated and informed secular elite that desires democratic reform. The concrete steps that can be taken to achieve this goal include the construction of supportable infrastructure, the widespread encouragement of secular educational institutions, the development of a burgeoning bureaucracy representative of the middle class.

This may be best achieved initially via the rapid implementation of these institutions in the smaller nation states in the region. Thusly, providing these smaller states as beacons of success to the populaces of the larger more disparate nations. Democracies are messy, they are difficult to encourage, and they do reflect the long term interests of the West as often the second generations of a middle class tend to moderate extremism.

There simply is not a quick fix to create a democracy. To do so will require a dedicated pursuit and encouragement for potentially the next century.

Learn more about this author, Thompson Kellett.
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