I smell Cilantro from the kitchen!

Here is an article about increasing commercialism during Ramadan from today's New York Times. Sorry I don't know the html to make the ugly link hidden. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/12/international/asia/12ramadan.html?hp&ex=1129176000&en=9f76940d247c8c43&ei=5094&partner=homepage

My Comparative Politics of the Middle East class was surprisingly interesting today. My teacher decided to have a class period dedicated to the discussion of Democracy in the Middle East and its viability. We began talking about Bush's commitment to democracy in the ME and though we quickly moved into the structures of the ME and whether or not democracy could work, I thought it was really interesting thinking about what America's support for true democracy in the region would probably mean. The authoritarian/patrimonial governments of the Middle East have been really good at being "good" patrimonial/authoritarian leaders (i.e. laws are flexible to maintain power, "divide and rule," military prowess, etc.) . They've been extremely successful at preventing any kind of opposition from developing, jailing and blackening the reputations of any who try, and outlawing Islamist political parties or organizations, not to mention any other moderate group. As we discussed in class, authoritarian governments don't do anything unless it is to further cement their own power. Things like the elections in Egypt or establishment of a Human Rights Commission often look like change, but in effect they are changes to ensure that things can stay the same. The middle classes of any society are typically the ones who demand changes to the system, but with an extremely small middle class, and one that is markedly different from the lower classes, there seems to be no chance for a moderate/democratically inclined party or leader to really galvanize support. I think that if someone waved a wand and suddenly all the countries in the Middle East had democracy, or at least Egypt did, then the Islamist groups would be the only ones that could possibly galvanize support from the majority of citizens, particularly because the opposition groups that have formed are weak and not well-developed.

I was hoping to spend more time talking about what the United States' goals were, probably because I'm learning that training in Political Science is often about, "But what do they really want?" Unfortunately the answer is rarely "World Peace!" or one that can be figured out in the present time. The administration must know that if there were real democracies in the Middle East they would probably be led by people unfriendly to the U.S.. Someone brought up the point in class the theory that democracies are nicer and more peaceful and don't engage in conflict, but without going into too much theory, most people are thinking about Western Europe and the U.S. and Japan and Australia when they say this, not the multitudes of newly-formed democracies in Eastern Europe, South America, and other parts of the world that often undergo far more instability and conflict than their authoritarian neighbors. From my classes at UGA I think the basic opinion is that the verdict is still out on whether or not democracies are more peaceful or not, and if you can even isolate that variable from other factors. I guess it could benefit the U.S. just as much to celebrate the cosmetic changes in Egypt or elsewhere while maintaining an ally that is likely to stay in power and can be persuaded with aid.

Oh goodness, it's been a rough month for me and political systems. : ) Even my staunch belief in proportional representation and the democracies of Western Europe took a hit with Germany's crisis earlier this month. Don't worry, for even though Political Science seems determined to drain every ounce of idealism out of its students, I'm not giving in, just hopefully getting smarter. After all, as I recently remembered, you can't keep a girl down who used to sign letters "Peace, love, and sunshine" and wrote a "What I would do as President" manifesto in 2nd grade.

I say all this when my class that really makes me want to lose faith in the world is a few hours away. You're lucky I'm writing this post now and not later : ) Last week after watching a depressing movie called "The Hunger Business" about relief operations I began trying to write out all my thoughts and observations about how large parts of humanitarian organizations function just like the military. You'll have to ask me about that one in person... I haven't figured out how to begin evaluating what I've been learning and what it means for my interests yet.

If commercialism, dubious democracy and failures of humanitarianism threaten to bring you down, just imagine getting out of a cab and seeing a man walk by with a cart of small and large, pointy, shiny hats with streamers for the kids to wear. If only I had had some money with me! They were awesome. You can also imagine listening to The Beatles, because that is what I'm doing right now and it makes me happy.

Peace, love and sunshine,

Helen "George is my favorite" S.