One can argue that an intrinsic democratic polity, or true democracy, takes place when people collectively exercise power. This is exactly what Arab peoples have been doing since December 17, 2010. But the people will transorm their states into true democracies when they complete their power grab and peacefully hold onto power. It will be time before we know whether this will be the fate of the Arab Spring. Let's hope it will turn out this way.
Most revolutions in the world took the form of armed rebellion. In most cases the regime was a foreign occupying force. So the Arab Spring belongs to the small number of cases in which people revolt against their own rulers. But Arab revolutions are even more unique in world history.
The revolts were triggered by the Bouazizi act of self-immolation,which runs against Muslim custom. The incident shocked people into action. They read it as a protest against a general condition of political oppression. Bouazizi's town members went to demonstrate at government buildings; this was met by a security crackdown that left more injuries, sparking a spontaneous uprising that spread from town to town. In three weeks it reached the capital and once the Bin Alis left the country, the spirit of "can do" spread in the Arab world. Three dictators are out; one regime has been completely wiped out--thanks in part to NATO; constitutions have changed or being debated, and in every Arab country there have been some significant impact. At the very least, one could say without doubt that Arab political culture is transforming; there is a collectiv people consciousness that will not accept political alienation--which most Arabs have tolerated for so long. One can appreciate this point by comparing the ongoing events in the Arab world to othe revolutions.
The Glorious Revolution in England in 1688 started by action of Protestant politicians against their own king. The French Revolution involved the grassroots but the main action began when the Bourgeoise of the Third Estate, part of the ruling elite, revolted against the nobility and the priests. The revolution ende fuedalism, empowered the parliament and gave rights to people. However, unlike Arab revolts, it did not start from people who were completely marginalized. The American Revolution was triggered by state level action when the leaders of the new colonies saw Britain as a foreign entity and wanted to separate from it.
In the Carribean, the Cuban Revolution was an armed rebellion that failed two times before coming to power. In the Eastern side of the globe, the Bolshevik October Revolution started with ideas then turned into an armed rebellion. So did the Communist Chinese Revolution.
The anti-Communist revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Euroe were triggered by a world event: the collapse of the Soviet Union in the wake of its defeat in Afghanistan. The movement began in Poland, where an organized labor union was leading the call for change. In several Eastern European countries the old communist regime leaders morphed into some form of social democrats and for the most part remained in power.
Closer to the Arab world, the Iranian Revolution stands out. Millions of Iranians took part in it, which like the Arab Spring began in the form of peaceful protest. But unlike the Arab Spring movements, the Iranian revolt followed a well stated plan of action published in 1969 by the leader of the revolution, Khomeini, in his book Velayeti Fagih. Young Mullahs began immediately mobilizing and their networks were in place to bring out masses of people; the violent reaction of the Shah led to awful bloodshed but ended with a total regime change in less than one year.
Despite all the traditions of democracy in the world and although democracy is about people empowering themselves by ruling themselves, the world is yet to witness a true democratic rule.
Western democracies are dominated by corporate interest, notwithstanding Scandinavian exceptions that value direct democracy measures; Israel promotes itself as an oasis of democracy in the Middle East, but this is a country where the center of power gravitates to Ashkenazi business and military leaders. India has a reputation of being the world's larges democracy, because the military has stayed out of politics and the country has the largest number of voters. But India is yet to complete dismantling its discriminatory caste system, which completely disenfranchises hundreds of millions of citizens.
Can the Arabs offer the world the first political systems where no tribe, company, party, social or regligious leaders group, or military general dominate? Yes they can, if they believe and work for it. Rachid Al-Ghannouchi, thinker and founder of the Tunisian Ennahda Party, which received a plurality of votes a few weeks ago, believes such system would pass much of state power to local governing bodies that are close to the needs of the citizens.
Will the national power regime in Tunisia, i.e., the political networks that developed since the creation of the post-colonia state, allow Tunisians to achieve Al-Ghannouchi vision? Will Egyptians who have had an ancient political history of strong central government go for bottom-up people power democracy? Only the continued public engagement of ordinary Arabs and youth groups can raise the likelihood of this happening. If it does, the Arab peoples will have reentered history with a big splash that might cause political Tsunamis across the world.
