In the Middle East, only Israel and Iraq were included. Nobody was surprised by the selection of Israel, long described in the US as “the only democracy in the Middle East". The discouraging outcome of the Tunisian experience gives the inevitable impression that the Middle East and North Africa is sinking into irrelevance when it comes to the democracy conversation. With a sense of fatigue about its previous pursuits of pro-democracy activism in the Middle East, Washington feels today such involvement is out of place, too costly and too unnerving. The Middle East may not be impervious to democracy but it wants it on its own terms, regardless of what US policymakers have on their agenda.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 16, 2021 22:30 UTC