Middle East and N. Africa Media and Politics: Has the Middle East Gotten It Right All Along?: "Have we (The US) been wrong in intervening into Middle Countries? Are these protests going to eventually solve the problems in the Middle Ea..."
What makes you doubt the movements that are protesting in most of the MENA countries? The protests are popular and secular, moreover they are demanding for real reforms to solve real problems. I think that there is nothing more genuine and authentic than that.
I understand the fear about democratization processes, they are not occurring automatically. The first and necessary step for a real and settled change is the self-awareness and self-determination of the people, then the process could be really hard and take so long.
I think that this is a great chance for the MENA area to develop and the Western countries HAVE to facilitate this process.
Democracy is not a good you can export. Just think about what happened first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq after the foreign military occupation, CHAOS. Hard power doesn't look to the future, it is just focused on solving very current problems. Authentic change needs to come from the inside, and now it seems to be the right time. Western countries have the resources to facilitate the change and assist the MENA countries during the process. How?
1st. Facilitation. Smart Power. Western huge Soft Power has a great influence on unwilling-to-change actors and it has to be mixed with some forms of Hard Power, if necessary (ex.No fly zones).
2nd. Assistance. Once the protests have succeeded, there would be a real need for international cooperation for the development, assistance for educational resources and knowledge exchanges.
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