CHANGING THE CULTURE:

Mubarak Campaigns as Skeptics Wonder About Real Reform (MICHAEL SLACKMAN, 8/25/05, NY Times)

Those close to Mr. Mubarak say that the very act of holding a campaign is a step toward awakening a society that has been politically lethargic for decades. They believe it will allow creation of a political class and produce political institutions independent of the government or ruling National Democratic Party.

The incremental progress seems aimed at changing attitudes within Egypt's huge bureaucracy rather than promoting democratic values. The very fact that Mr. Mubarak's speeches as a candidate are not broadcast live on state-run television, or that photographers other than those working for the president are permitted to take his picture, are counted by some of his supporters as reforms.

"What is important is the new dynamics existing now in this society," said Muhammad Abdullah, president of Alexandria University and a leading figure in the ruling National Democratic Party. "The idea of competition, and defeating the idea of the pharaoh, will give way to new steps. We are starting a new real era in our life."

Arab authoritarians have not done as good a of of preparing their countries for democracy as guys like Franco, Pinochet, and Marcos did, so there's some catching up to do. The important thing is to create an expectation of genuine democracy and instill the idea that only representative government is legitimate in the long run.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 25, 2005 4:39 PM