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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Claremont Colleges

Series

2011

Islam

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Realism, Idealism, And U.S. Foreign Policy In The Islamic World: Why Democratic Realpolitik Is Essential, Robert J. Bunker Jan 2011

Realism, Idealism, And U.S. Foreign Policy In The Islamic World: Why Democratic Realpolitik Is Essential, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Enough comment and critical debate has been generated by the essay Why We Should Support Democratic Revolution in the Islamic World to warrant further elaboration on the themes it contains and why support of the despotic status quo in the Islamic World is not only morally unacceptable but, more importantly for many of the Small Wars Journal readership, no longer rational from the perspective of realpolitik and purely selfish U.S. interests at home and abroad. The latter concern shall be addressed first since those who are presently students of insurgency and foreign policy tend to focus on realism— how things …


Why We Should Support Democratic Revolution In The Islamic World, Robert J. Bunker Jan 2011

Why We Should Support Democratic Revolution In The Islamic World, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen have caught senior U.S. policymakers off guard like a herd of deer frozen in the headlights of a big rig barreling down the highway. The State Department contingency plan now appears to be to pretend to play the middle in the media—between the democratic yearnings of the mob and the longing looks of friendly despots— while privately clinging to principals of realpolitik. Calls for democratic freedoms and reforms to be implemented in Egypt, the true center of gravity for the Arab region, are being made but they are no more than hallow exaltations.