U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East

Abstract

This paper is based on the results of the internship Policy Project conducted at the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS). Even though improvements have been identified during recent years in the Middle East, it has always been the one of the most troublesome regions of the world, where building democracy has been a dilemma that did not emerge. Previously, the U.S. has been prioritizing stability in the region over promoting democracy. However, in the last several years this policy of stability has been changed. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. determined that the lack of democracy and the existing authoritarian regimes in the Middle East are not only upholding instability in the region, but are a national security threat for the U.S. as well. As a result, promoting and building democracy in the Middle East has become one of the leading objectives of U.S. foreign policy. The objective of this paper is to analyze the U.S. policies and initiatives for promoting democracy in the Middle East that have been designated as a national security priority. It will observe the status of human rights and democracy and will examine how the U.S. democracy promotion efforts are implemented in the Middle East, particularly in two Arab countries: Saudi Arabia and Syria. It will also analyze the scope of pressure exerted by the U.S. on the two countries to comply democratic procedures and human rights violations.