Life has become very difficult indeed for Westerners promoting democratic values in the Middle East, and, unfortunately, we seem to have chosen our friends unwisely. Many of them have not enough enthusiasm for democracy and too much for clamping down on those who do.

As the US demand for Western-style democracy in the Middle East grows ever more strained, Harvard Middle East expert Jeremy Jones travels through the region evaluating the prospects for change. He engages with diverse political cultures, from traditional assemblies in the Persian Gulf, to sophisticated multiconfessional politics in the Levant.

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