03-29-2003, 02:19 PM
Syria: check out how benevolent they have been regarding Lebanon over tha past 20 years. Their structure is almost identical to Iraq, an autocracy.
Saudi Arabia: An anachronism in the 21st century. What will be interesting to see there is whether or not the sons of the Current King adopt a progressive, and possibly constitutional monarchy that moves them forward, or if they will stay somewhere in the 14th century.
Look to Turkey for a model of how a formerly 'Muslim State' (empire?) adopted a parliamentary form of government and entered the modern world. Consider the risks they take, since the guarantor of the Costitution's secular nature, i.e. the prohibition against the re-establishment of a Caliphate in Istanbul, is the military.
Pakistan has been working the parliamentary form for a while, although some would argue that the present regime represents a set back.
Look to the Islamic Republic of Iran. As I suggested in another thread, my own opinion is that an Islamic Republic, of a sort, is a likely evolution, a reaction to 25 years of a junta. The question is, do the folks in Iran want to move forward or backward?
I'd sort of like to see them allowed to determine that with UN support as soon as the junta is gone. If you apply the South American/Latin American 'Strong Man' model to Saddam Hussein, it fits pretty well.
Saudi Arabia: An anachronism in the 21st century. What will be interesting to see there is whether or not the sons of the Current King adopt a progressive, and possibly constitutional monarchy that moves them forward, or if they will stay somewhere in the 14th century.
Look to Turkey for a model of how a formerly 'Muslim State' (empire?) adopted a parliamentary form of government and entered the modern world. Consider the risks they take, since the guarantor of the Costitution's secular nature, i.e. the prohibition against the re-establishment of a Caliphate in Istanbul, is the military.
Pakistan has been working the parliamentary form for a while, although some would argue that the present regime represents a set back.
Look to the Islamic Republic of Iran. As I suggested in another thread, my own opinion is that an Islamic Republic, of a sort, is a likely evolution, a reaction to 25 years of a junta. The question is, do the folks in Iran want to move forward or backward?
I'd sort of like to see them allowed to determine that with UN support as soon as the junta is gone. If you apply the South American/Latin American 'Strong Man' model to Saddam Hussein, it fits pretty well.
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete