The Problem of Democracy, Shadi Hamid
The Problem of Democracy, Shadi Hamid
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The Problem of Democracy
America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea

Author: Shadi Hamid

Narrator: Amin El Gamin

Unabridged: 12 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Kalorama

Published: 02/21/2023

Synopsis

What happens when democracy produces "bad" outcomes? Is democracy good because of its outcomes or despite them? This "democratic dilemma" is one of the most persistent, vexing problems for America abroad, particularly in the Middle East—we want democracy in theory but not necessarily in practice.

When Islamist parties rise to power through free elections, the United States has too often been ambivalent or opposed, preferring instead pliable dictators. With this legacy of democratic disrespect in mind, and drawing on new interviews with top American officials, Shadi Hamid explores universal questions of morality, power, and hypocrisy. Why has the United States failed so completely to live up to its own stated ideals in the Arab world? And is it possible for it to change?

In The Problem of Democracy, Hamid offers an ambitious reimagining of this ongoing debate and argues for "democratic minimalism" as a path to resolving democratic dilemmas in the Middle East and beyond. In the seemingly eternal tension between democracy and liberalism, recognized by the ancient Greeks and the American founders alike, it may be time to prioritize one over the other, rather than acting as if the two are intertwined when increasingly they are not.

About Shadi Hamid

Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary, and a contributing writer at the Atlantic. He was named one of the world's top 50 thinkers by Prospect magazine in 2019. Hamid is the author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Lionel Gelber Prize for best book on foreign affairs, and coeditor of Rethinking Political Islam. His first book, Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East, was named a Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2014.

Reviews

Goodreads review by E.T. on November 17, 2022

What is the book's premise ? The book is an argument for what the author calls for "m̶i̶n̶i̶m̶a̶l̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶o̶c̶r̶a̶c̶y̶ " - open religious majoritarianism in Muslim-majority countries. Building on his argument in Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World, he says that......more

Goodreads review by Lynn on December 23, 2022

Good to Hear a Middle East Point of View No solutions in this book but shows a point of view from the Middle East on Democracy and American influence on other nations to support it. The Arab Spring happened about 10 years ago and Middle Eastern countries are struggling with democracy. Many reasserted......more

Goodreads review by Matt on November 17, 2022

I agree totally with other reviews that this book should be two books. One proposing a new version of American foreign policy - democratic minimalism. And the second a detailed history of American foreign policy in the Middle East from 1990-2020. Shadi Hamid clearly knows plenty about both, and ofte......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on March 24, 2024

I found this book to be a bit odd. It had interesting parts, but the argument was unconvincing, and it also had a good amount of fluff that should have been edited out. Here's the argument: USFP in the Middle East for the last half century or so has made a bargain with autocrats who ostensibly provid......more

Goodreads review by Surfacin9 on August 05, 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and totally disagree with the author about pushing for democracy in the Middle East. And when I say “enjoyed” I don’t mean I was delighted by the ideas, but rather it kept my mind engaged and on the offensive about what he offered as US policy solutions. I rate......more

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