Middle East Democracy Movements

Aug. 30, 2006

Fukuoka - Ambassador Edward "Skip" Gnehm, Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the George Washington University, spoke on movements toward democracy in the Middle East at the Fukuoka American Center. Ambassador Gnehm discussed steps forward and back in election processes in Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, and other places and noted trends in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries. He suggested that western governments shouldn't expect that all elections would bring western-leaning democratic leaders to power, and that incremental steps to democracy often take several years. His presentation was followed by a vigorous question and answer period. Ambassador Gnehm entertained the audience by fielding all questions, even pointed ones, and used a series of personal anecdotes to illustrate why he could take strong stands on issues.