Customer Reviews

Uncharted Journey: Promoting Democracy in the Middle East (Global Policy Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It always saddens me when I somehow manage to be the first person to review a wonderful book, but the fact that this is the case for Uncharted Journey is even worse. If the future of the Middle East is something you feel to be important and want to have a better understanding of, I can't think of a better book. Noah Feldman's After Jihad comes to mind, but this book may be better.

Edited texts with multiple authors writing about the same overall theme have the potential to be very redundant. It's not that the information isn't useful, it's just that the contributors in many instances tread the same ground. Thankfully this book is not redundant in the least. Each chapter looks at very different aspects of the issue at hand and does not rehash the same material throughout the book.

Some of the topics covered includes the role of Islamists in the democratic process, women's rights, and economic versus political reform. The analysis presented is very pragmatic, it does not come from blind adherence to any particular ideology. Middle Eastern democracy is discussed openly and from all possible angles. This is the type of book policymakers should be reading. I think if this advice were being listened to, we could all be more optimistic about what's happening in the Middle East.

My only problem with the book was the chapter on Europe's role in the process. Every other chapter was coherent and succinct...I had no problems getting through any other part of the book. However, this one problematic chapter was written in an obtuse fashion that failed to hold my interest. The topic was interesting, but the presentation was lacking. That chapter notwithstanding, I have to give this book the highest possible rating. The content of this book is perhaps the best, most dispassionate analysis of the subject I have come across.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested about the Middle East.

This book offers an outstanding overview of many of key issues shaping debates surrounding democracy promotion in the Middle East. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.