Arch Puddington: The legacy of Arab autocracy
[The writer is director of research at Freedom House.]
Coming on the heels of the Tunisian upheaval, the demonstrations in Egypt and Yemen have triggered considerable speculation about the prospects for change in the Middle East. Some have compared today’s conditions with the situation in 1989 when, much to the world’s astonishment, the entire edifice of European communism collapsed in the face of (with the exception of Romania) nonviolent opposition.
There are, of course, parallels between the Soviet satellites and today’s Arab autocracies. Eastern Europe had endured more than 40 years under a form of totalitarianism much grimmer than the current environment in Egypt or Jordan. Furthermore, since none of the communist regimes enjoyed democratic legitimacy, all had a strong stake in quashing stirrings of popular resistance in neighboring countries. Like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi, the Erich Honeckers and Nicolae Ceausescus understood that change in one country was a threat to the rest.
There are also noteworthy differences between Eastern Europe then and the Middle East now. By the 1980s, dissident movements existed throughout the communist world, with official tolerance.
And the dissidents were fortified by the example of Mikhail Gorbachev, whose policies of glasnost and perestroika set loose a spirit of freedom that proved uncontrollable. The satellites also benefited from their proximity to Western Europe, with its model democracies and prosperity. Before the Wall came down, Europe was a seductive model; afterward, the European Union was crucial in solidifying democratic institutions in the former communist world.
Finally, while Hungary, Poland and East Germany remained under communist regimentation before 1989, each was moving toward more openness and a reduced police-state atmosphere.
In today's Middle East, unfortunately, the political trajectory is less benign.
Read entire article at Jerusalem Post
Coming on the heels of the Tunisian upheaval, the demonstrations in Egypt and Yemen have triggered considerable speculation about the prospects for change in the Middle East. Some have compared today’s conditions with the situation in 1989 when, much to the world’s astonishment, the entire edifice of European communism collapsed in the face of (with the exception of Romania) nonviolent opposition.
There are, of course, parallels between the Soviet satellites and today’s Arab autocracies. Eastern Europe had endured more than 40 years under a form of totalitarianism much grimmer than the current environment in Egypt or Jordan. Furthermore, since none of the communist regimes enjoyed democratic legitimacy, all had a strong stake in quashing stirrings of popular resistance in neighboring countries. Like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi, the Erich Honeckers and Nicolae Ceausescus understood that change in one country was a threat to the rest.
There are also noteworthy differences between Eastern Europe then and the Middle East now. By the 1980s, dissident movements existed throughout the communist world, with official tolerance.
And the dissidents were fortified by the example of Mikhail Gorbachev, whose policies of glasnost and perestroika set loose a spirit of freedom that proved uncontrollable. The satellites also benefited from their proximity to Western Europe, with its model democracies and prosperity. Before the Wall came down, Europe was a seductive model; afterward, the European Union was crucial in solidifying democratic institutions in the former communist world.
Finally, while Hungary, Poland and East Germany remained under communist regimentation before 1989, each was moving toward more openness and a reduced police-state atmosphere.
In today's Middle East, unfortunately, the political trajectory is less benign.