Middle East Review of International Affairs

Volume 8, Number 4, December 2004

 

Discussion: The State of Arab Liberalism
by Barry Rubin, Tamara Kofman Wittes and Leith Kuba ^*

 

Abstract

On August 13, 2004, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) held a forum on Arab Liberalism and Democracy in the Middle East. The following is an edited transcript of the event, as broadcast on C-Span. It is hoped this edited transcript will inspire additional thought, debate, and ideas on the subject.

Full Text (PDF, 13 pages, 73.7 KB)

Note *: Barry Rubin, is Director of the Global Research and International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA). His recent books include Yasir Arafat, a Political Biography and Anti-American Terrorism in the Middle East (Oxford University Press) and The Tragedy of the Middle East. (Cambridge University Press). He is completing a book on Arab liberals and their struggle.

Tamara Cofman Wittes is a research fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy. Formerly a program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, she is editor of the forthcoming How Israelis and Palestinians Negotiate: A Cross Cultural Analysis of the Oslo Peace Process. Her article, "The Promise of Arab Liberalism: America's Role in Middle East Reform" appeared in the June 2004 Policy Review.

Laith Kubba, a senior program officer for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment For Democracy, directed the international program of the Al Khoei Foundation in London and was the founder of the Islam 21 Project.