Exchange: Mistaking Data for “Theory”

Issue Date October 2006
Volume 17
Issue 4
Page Numbers 166-168
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We should neither be too hasty to discount the prodemocratic political ferment in the Arab world, nor be fooled into thinking that Islamist groups will play a constructive part in democratic transitions.

About the Author

Steven A. Cook is Douglas Dillon Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of Ruling, but Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey (2007).

View all work by Steven A. Cook

Further Reading

Volume 17, Issue 1

Getting to Arab Democracy: Lebanon Springs Forward

Taking advantage of the withdrawal of Syrian troops, Lebanese voters capped the "Beirut Spring" by electing a new majority in parliament.

Volume 31, Issue 1

Fear and Learning in the Arab Uprisings

Demonstrators in Algeria and Sudan have drawn on the experiences of earlier Arab protest movements in their efforts to push for lasting change.

Volume 10, Issue 4

Redefining Turkey’s Political Center

Read the full essay here.