Wissam Raji's Reviews > The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea

The book is not worth reading due to its repetitions and lack of depth; a summary would suffice. The author attempts to conceal his ideological religious motives under the guise of being a liberal thinker raised in the US, using this to undermine US efforts in promoting democracy. He attributes the failure of democracy in the Middle East to the US rather than the people of the region. Instead of approaching his thesis from a multidimensional perspective—considering religious, cultural, economic, and political factors—he exclusively blames the US.

The author fails to acknowledge that liberalism and democracy typically reinforce each other in a cycle. However, in the Middle East, this cycle is distorted due to cultural and religious influences. Manipulated forms of fake liberalism are used to gain democracy, which then leads to illiberalism and ultimately theocracy. Consequently, rather than an authoritarian regime driven by self-interest, the region ends up with religious authoritarianism.

Furthermore, labeling the US mission of spreading democracy as "hypocrisy" is ignorant and shows a lack of understanding of US foreign policy history.