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| Why didn´t you listen? |
A somewhat negative review of "After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked the Middle East revolts" by John R Bradley. Posted on May 20, 2012. The author has been proven right, of course...
This book is something of a disappointment. Since the author isn't a
scholar, but a foreign correspondent, I didn't expect a dense scholarly study.
However, nor did I expect what I actually got: a confusing, disjointed,
semi-sarcastic lamentation. The first chapters, on Tunisia and Egypt
respectively, are relatively well written, but it's pretty much downhill from
there.
Sometimes, the author makes strange gaffes, as when he writes that U.S. support for South Vietnam handed the region over to China (?!), or that the Green movement in Iran is named after the Saudi flag (!!). He also anachronistically refers to the Afghan Mujahedeen of the 1980's as "The Taliban".
This could have been minor points, but given the rest of the book, these errors were hard not to notice... (Although it's possible that the comment on the Saudi flag was sarcasm.)
The author's main thesis is that the so-called Arab spring is a tragedy, rather than a cause for celebration. It's anything but a highway street to liberal democracy. Instead, the fall of the secular regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen will lead to more tribalism, strengthen Muslim fundamentalism, or both. The second thesis of the author is that the United States, Saudi Arabia and even Israel *supports* the Muslim Brotherhood, in the hope that it will create replicas of Saudi Arabia - fundamentalist, socially backward, but politically stable and pro-American. Another part of the book describes how Wahhabi fundamentalism has taken a hold in traditionally tolerant Southeast Asian societies, including Malaysia.
The author is less sure about what to do about the situation - he admits that Mubarak, Saleh and Ben Ali were extremely unpopular dictators. The only advice Bradley can give is not to yield an inch to Muslim fundamentalism, and he hopes that Morocco and Jordan might succeed with their gradual democratization. Incidentally, it's somewhat unclear what political opinions Bradley has. On balance, I'd say he's a libertarian of the more hedonistic variety (he seems to like beer and brothels).
I admit that the subject of "After the Arab Spring" is both timely, interesting and yes, disturbing. That's why I wanted to like this book. However, since these spring time lamentations are so clumsily written, I only give it two stars. Or perhaps two-and-half.
Sometimes, the author makes strange gaffes, as when he writes that U.S. support for South Vietnam handed the region over to China (?!), or that the Green movement in Iran is named after the Saudi flag (!!). He also anachronistically refers to the Afghan Mujahedeen of the 1980's as "The Taliban".
This could have been minor points, but given the rest of the book, these errors were hard not to notice... (Although it's possible that the comment on the Saudi flag was sarcasm.)
The author's main thesis is that the so-called Arab spring is a tragedy, rather than a cause for celebration. It's anything but a highway street to liberal democracy. Instead, the fall of the secular regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen will lead to more tribalism, strengthen Muslim fundamentalism, or both. The second thesis of the author is that the United States, Saudi Arabia and even Israel *supports* the Muslim Brotherhood, in the hope that it will create replicas of Saudi Arabia - fundamentalist, socially backward, but politically stable and pro-American. Another part of the book describes how Wahhabi fundamentalism has taken a hold in traditionally tolerant Southeast Asian societies, including Malaysia.
The author is less sure about what to do about the situation - he admits that Mubarak, Saleh and Ben Ali were extremely unpopular dictators. The only advice Bradley can give is not to yield an inch to Muslim fundamentalism, and he hopes that Morocco and Jordan might succeed with their gradual democratization. Incidentally, it's somewhat unclear what political opinions Bradley has. On balance, I'd say he's a libertarian of the more hedonistic variety (he seems to like beer and brothels).
I admit that the subject of "After the Arab Spring" is both timely, interesting and yes, disturbing. That's why I wanted to like this book. However, since these spring time lamentations are so clumsily written, I only give it two stars. Or perhaps two-and-half.
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