Democracy in the Middle East

 American Success in Democratization: A Case Study

Japan is an enlightening example of how a nation transformed from undemocratic rule to authentic democracy through the directive of the United States.  Japanese society, like that of most countries in the Middle East, was deeply rooted in the adherence to principles rooted in its long history and tradition.  Japan and the Middle East also shared a history of state-based modernization efforts resisted by traditionalists.  At the end of the 19^th century, Japan was struggling to emerge from its shogunate past by instituting various Western reforms, just as the Middle East struggled to modernize without Westernizing within the aging Ottoman Empire.  Neither society, however, could turn the corner through its own efforts.

The occupation of post-World War II Japan by Allied forces was personified by General Douglas MacArthur, who rapidly instituted several sweeping reforms.  In 1946, the Japanese Diet ratified a new constitution that mirrored the “proposed” plan of MacArthur.  The constitution guaranteed basic freedoms and civil liberties, abolished nobility, abolished Shinto as the state religion, and stripped the emperor of deity statues and removed him from politics.

Japan’s international success in the last half of the 20^th century was the direct result of the social, economic, and political reforms instituted during the occupation that lasted from 1945 to 1952.  A continued program of aggressive industrial development with American assistance developed Japan’s economy, allowing it eventually to become the world’s second largest.  MacArthur rightly believed that economic development could not only help democratize Japan, but also prevent the reemergence of militarism and save the country from communism.  The postwar environment thus provided the ability for all three aspects of democracy to be promoted simultaneously.

Japan’s democratic success was due to two very important factors: the Japanese embrace of defeat (following the lead of their cultural figurehead) and MacArthur’s willingness to press democracy through undemocratic means.  The United States had established itself as the undisputed power in Japan by the successful military campaign culminating in the awe-inspiring atomic destruction of two of Japan’s heavily populated cities.  There was nothing for the Japanese to do except understand the reality of American power.  Throughout the occupation, the Japanese phrase “shikata ga nai,” or “nothing can be done about it,” was commonly used to encapsulate the public’s resignation to the conditions it endured while under occupation.

The unmitigated success of Japan- a country similar in constitution to countries in the Middle East (or, at least, as dissimilar to the United Statesas are countries in theMiddle East) – supplies many with optimism at the possibility of democratizing the region.   The root of this kind of optimism, however, is misguided.

Arab Democracy

 Many harsh realities prevent the fostering of a democratic form of government in the Middle East.  The region lives between two extremes – populist, theocratic fundamentalism leading and antifundamentalist authoritarianism.  One Middle East scholar says there is an “Islamic exception” to the development of democracy in the Arab world, that it is “trapped between autocratic states and illiberal societies, neither of them fertile ground for liberal democracy.”[v]  Compounding the problem is the fact that democracy has been labeled by those two forces as an evil that must be combated.  With such seeming hostility toward democracy in the region, it is clear that spreading democracy will be an uphill battle.

 The two reasons why democracy gained a solid footing in Japan – its embrace of defeat and America’s willingness to democratize undemocratically – are not present with respect to the Middle East.  US forces in Iraq face tremendous difficulties in exerting authority, whether on their own or through the Iraqi civilian leadership.  Ongoing insurgency amidst seemingly little progress have created an unsettling disposition on the Arab street.  The second reason, which stems from the first, is that America and the international community no longer have the stomach to promote democracy undemocratically.  In order to promote democracy on all three levels, as was done in Japan, it must be done after a victory of total war.  The manner in which America has defined democracy as a democratic and American way of life, though it has benefited the United States immeasurably, precludes it from being promoted in such a way that violates those principles without proper justification.

The promotion of democracy in a region that neither understands America’s intentions nor desires the characteristics America wishes to promote compounds this inconsistency and strengthens any hostility to the idea of democracy in the region.  The successful democratization of the Middle East first requires that anti-democratic elements must be overcome, though they cannot be overcome through force.  The Middle East must be courted by democracy in order for it to be organically produced.