Charles W. Dunne is an adjunct fellow at the Middle East Institute. This piece has been published in collaboration with the Institute, and is a synopsis of a larger paper published as part of the MEI series titled: "The Middle East and the 2016 Presidential Elections." The views expressed are the author's own.
Much has been said about the Middle East by the current crop of U.S. presidential candidates, mainly focusing on the threat of ISIS, the danger of Iran, and the chaos engulfing Syria, Iraq, and Libya. Most important to the campaigns, of course, is the question of who’s to blame. The Obama administration has received criticism for its alleged lack of firm action, as well as praise for its restraint. Hillary Clinton has been attacked for her vote in favor of the Iraq War and for supporting the Libyan intervention. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have limited records on these issues, and what they do say is usually tendentious and often unhelpful.
But what’s missing in this debate is a positive vision of the Middle East’s future. What role can and should America play in promulgating a new political landscape that favors democratization and respect for human rights? Why does it matter? To the extent the candidates have spoken about this at all, it has been in largely negative terms.
Trump has decried the “dangerous idea that we could make Western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interests in becoming a Western democracy.” Clinton has talked of the role of human rights and democracy in U.S. foreign policy, but in her campaign she has largely failed to apply them to the region. Sen. Sanders has avoided foreign policy talk altogether and has yet to comment on the role the United States might play in helping to right tottering political systems in the region.
None has said that human rights and democracy promotion in the Middle East should be an American priority.
This is unfortunate, as repression, state failure, and political retrenchment in the region are likely to become catalysts for the next wave of political uprisings – and the next may well be more violent and disruptive than the first. All the factors that brought about the 2011 Arab Spring continue to seethe under the surface: youth discontent and unemployment, pent-up demand for political space and freedom of expression, and burdensome governments that refuse to acknowledge the dignity of individuals while hoarding power and privilege for themselves.
Having been denied once, revolutionary forces in weak and unstable states may demand more, perhaps even full-blown Islamic revolution. Denial of fundamental freedoms is an invitation to extremism and revanchism.
The United States cannot by itself change the course of Middle Eastern political movements. But it can, and should, lend its voice and influence to shaping an environment that accommodates varying political voices and instills respect for fundamental freedoms. While political liberties and human rights are not a comprehensive answer to what ails the Middle East, they do in fact provide a basic building bloc for a more stable and peaceful region.
For the United States, important security interests are at stake.
The regional security architecture that Washington has nurtured over decades will be put at risk should instability continue to fester in friendly countries. Refugee flows, increasing radicalization, and a growing threat of transnational terrorism would compound problems for the United States and its Arab and European allies.
Notwithstanding the outright contempt or reluctance with which the leading candidates have approached these issues, the next administration will nevertheless need to review policy on democracy and human rights as it develops its overall strategy toward the Middle East.
After all, the promotion of freedom at home and abroad has been a core value of the United States since the founding of the nation, and one of the organizing principles upon which U.S. foreign policy has long been based. In his book “World Order,” former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger writes “The openness of American culture and its democratic principles made the United States a model … For Thomas Jefferson, America was not only a great power in the making but an ‘empire for liberty’ -- an ever-expanding force acting on behalf of all humanity to vindicate principles of good governance.”
We need that America today.
First, the next president must try to undo the damage the campaign has caused internationally; he or she must speak to aspirations, not fears.
Second, the United States should increase funding for democracy promotion and human rights as a percentage of U.S. spending in the region. As the Project on Middle East Democracy has documented, “U.S. policy and foreign assistance [in the region] is currently becoming even more dominated by military and security issues,” despite a pledge by the administration to rebalance aid to the region. Outreach to beleaguered civil society organizations, under increasing threat from governments, must also be a priority.
Third, the next administration should ensure that the promotion of democratic values and human rights is a whole-of-government effort. The next president should insist that defense and intelligence agencies partner effectively with civilian agencies to reinforce an American agenda in support of democratization and human rights.
Here is the way to start a discussion of how to re-establish American credibility as a global leader in human rights among the peoples of the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The next president may find this to be a critical American interest after all.
