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

Islam and Liberty

A review of The Universal Hunger for Liberty: Why the Clash of Civilizations Is Not Inevitable. By Michael Novak.

Volume 23, Issue 1

Debating Electoral Systems: Getting Majoritarianism Right

Contrary to popular wisdom, emerging democracies might be better off with a majoritarian electoral system rather than one based on proportional representation.

Volume 28, Issue 1

Tunisia’s Islamists and the “Turkish Model”

Ennahda has long felt an especially strong kinship with Turkey’s AKP, which has seen as representing a combination of piety, prosperity, and democratic credibility. How might their relationship be affected…