September 23rd, 2008 by Jason

Yesterday afternoon, POMED and the Institute for Middle East Studies hosted a discussion featuring Saad Eddin Ibrahim, leading Egyptian dissident and founder of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies in Cairo; and Marc Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at GWU. The discussion was moderated by Andrew Albertson, Executive Director of POMED, and focused on how the changing dynamics of reform in the region affect efforts at democracy promotion and U.S. policy.

Saad Eddin Ibrahim noted that while democracy cannot be imported or exported, it can be supported by concrete U.S. policy. He called for the U.S. to condition its aid to Egypt in the model of 1975’s Helsinki Accords.

Marc Lynch agreed, and criticized U.S. efforts at democracy promotion under the Freedom Agenda. He said the U.S. should focus on the expansion of “bill of rights” freedoms in order to level the playing field and strengthen opposition forces.

For full notes on this POMED event, click here.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, POMED, US foreign policy |