The Journey to the Arab Spring: The Ideological Roots of the Middle East Upheaval in Arab Liberal Thought

353 Pages·2014·2 MB·English

by  David Govrin

GovrinHB3_HB.qxd 21/03/2014 16:04 Page 1
David Govrin has been an Israeli T The book examines the historical and
Diplomat since 1989 and currently is h The Journey ideological background of the ‘New
the Director of Jordan and North Arab Liberal’ group’s growth and their
David Govrin’s book is a pioneering study of a unique unorganized e
Africa Department at the Israeli influence on recent events with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr Govrin group of Arab intellectuals – termed the New Liberals – which has aim of creating a pluralistic discourse
J
served at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, operated in and out the Arab world since the early 1990s. Academic to the throughout the Arab World.
o
Egypt, and at the Permanent Mission Dr David Govrin stresses the vitality
research in the last two decades has focused on the rise of Islam and
of Israel to the United Nations, New u of the Arab Liberals and their valuable
Islamic groups and ideologies. The result was the omission of serious
York. He is a BA, MA, and PhD and ideological contribution to the
r
graduate of the Hebrew University of research on Arab liberal and secular forces. The author should be political discourse on one of the most
n Arab Spring
Jerusalem in Islam and Middle East central issues of today’s Arab agenda,
commended for this meticulous work, which is a major contribution
Studies. He is also a research fellow at e namely the question of political reforms
to our understanding of significant intellectual developments in the
the Harry S. Truman Research Institute and democratization. The New Arab
y
for the Advancement of Peace, The Arab world preceding the Arab Spring. Admittedly, one cannot Liberals have drawn public criticism in

Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and understand the background, the scope and the intensity of the recent t demanding a change to the political
has published various articles on o status quo and the cultural and social
Arab revolutions without taking into account the intellectual
contemporary Middle East Issues. moulds. They have succeeded in

contribution made by the neo-liberals to the public discourse. Based t presenting to the Arab public a rational
on primary sources in Arabic, the author convincingly demonstrates h alternative outlook, centred upon a
vision of a civil, secular and democratic
that the Neo-Liberals constitute an important ideological force in e
state, as against an Arab nationalistic or
Arab societies, which succeeded in politically delivering some of its Islamist state vision.
A
The demand of the intellectuals,
messages during the Arab Spring.
r Liberals, public personalities and
a opposition factors for radical reform
Professor Elie Podeh, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
found concrete, aggressive and violent
b
expression in the upheaval that shattered
a large part of the Middle East, since
S December 2010, known as the ‘Arab
p Spring’. In order to understand the
background, range and strength of the
r
demands of the Arab public it is
i
necessary to investigate the ideological
n
contribution of the Arab Liberals to the
g public discourse.
G
Jacket illustration: this cartoon originally D
appeared in the newspaper, Al-Bayan. O
A
(While efforts have been made to identify V
the copyright holder, the publishers V
R The Ideological Roots
would be happy to be contacted I
regarding permission to use this image.) I D
VALLENTINE MITCHELL ISBN 978 0 85303 917 4 N of the Middle East Upheaval in
Middlesex House 920 NE 58th Avenue
Arab Liberal Thought
29/45 High Street Suite 300
Edgware, Middlesex Portland, OR 97213-3786
HA8 7UU, UK USA
VMALITLCEHNETILNLE www.vmbooks.com VALLENTINE DAVID GOVRIN
MITCHELL ISBN 978 0 85303 917 4
The Journey
To The
ArAb Spring

The Journey
to the
Arab Spring
The ideological roots of the
Middle east upheaval in
Arab Liberal Thought
DAviD govrin
vALLenTine MiTCheLL
LONDON • PORTLAND, OR
First published in 2014 by Vallentine Mitchell
Middlesex House, 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300
29/45 High Street, Edgware, Portland, Oregon,
Middlesex HA8 7UU, UK 97213-3786 USA
www.vmbooks.com
Copyright © 2014 David Govrin
british Library Cataloguing in publication Data
A record can be found on request
ISBN 978 0 85303 917 4 (cloth)
ISBN 978 0 85303 927 3 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been applied for
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, stored in or
introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior written permission of the publisher of this book.
Printed by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall
To my parents, Yosef and Hanna Govrin
‘Before democracy can have legs in Arab Muslim countries, these
countries need to be exposed to a competition of ideas.’
Irshad Manji, The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim Call for
Reform in Her Faith
‘Everywhere in that large Arab world, the political discourse is a
monologue. It conceals and smothers reality, runs away from it.
It conjures up enemies at the gates.’
Fouad ‘Ajami, The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought
Since 1967

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction to Methodology 1
Part One: The Liberal Discourse: A Historical Portrait 39
Introduction: The Concept of Political Community
in Islam 41
1. The Beginning of Liberalism in the Arab World:
1876–1945 47
2. In the Shadow of Post-Revolutionary Regimes:
1945 to the End of the Twentieth Century 69
Part Two: Continuity and Change: The Liberal Circles
in the Last Quarter of the Twentieth Century 87
3. A Collective Portrait of the New Arab Liberals 89
4. Formative Events of the Discourse in the Arab Sphere 119
5. The Debate over the Arab Democracy Crisis 167
6. The Ideal of the Democratic State 219
Conclusion: Between Vision and Reality 253
Epilogue 271
Appendix: The New Arab Liberals: Biographical Profiles 279
Select Bibliography 303
Index 317

Preface
This book analyses, for the first time, the new liberal discourse on
political reforms and the democratization processes in the Arab states
over the last three decades.1 It examines the formative events of the
Arab liberal discourse regarding political reforms since the beginning of
the 1990s, including the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern
Europe (1989–91) and the end of the Cold War between the eastern and
western blocs, as well as the end of the First Gulf War (1990–91). The
globalization process and the media revolution, since the last decade of
the twentieth century; the sharp shift in USA foreign policy following
the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001; and the removal of Saddam
Hussein’s regime (March 2003) – all these events evoked, to a great
extent, the discourse on democracy in the Arab public.
The years 2004–05 constitute the peak of the public discourse in
the Middle East during the first decade of the twenty-first century.
This discourse was held in the region under the immense impression
of Saddam Hussein’s removal by force (March 2003), by the coalition
members under USA leadership and in view of the initiative of
BMENA (Broader Middle East and North Africa) for the advancement
of democracy in the Middle East, which was officially published by
the White House and the Group of Eight Industrialized Nations (G8)
in June 2004, but was leaked earlier to the press. During that year
many conferences were held in the Middle East, where intellectuals,
liberals, human rights organizations and civil society activists discussed
the issue. In addition, the debate continued within the Arab press and
on Internet websites. One year later, the political discourse found
tangible expression in a long line of election campaigns and political
reform processes.2 The ‘Cedar Revolution’ in Lebanon, which broke
out at the beginning of 2005, constituted an immense concrete public
achievement, as it succeeded – through a wave of non-violent mass
demonstrations – to remove the Syrian Army after twenty-nine years
while demanding that parliamentary elections should be held in the
country. The liberal discourse that constituted a substantial part of
the general debate on this subject significantly contributed to raising
public consciousness and to paving the ground for these demands that
called for a fundamental change in the Arab political systems.
Since the end of 2005, a significant decline has been noted in the
international efforts and pressures, led by the USA, for the advancement