DUBAI (Reuters) - The Arab world, which failed to catch the wave of change that brought Latin America, eastern Europe and swathes of Asia into the democratic fold over three decades, now faces the choice of reform or ruin, analysts say.
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From Cairo to Riyadh, Arab leaders meeting at the annual Arab summit in Tunis on March 29-30 are scurrying to find a model of reform to counter Washington's new "Greater Middle East" initiative, which calls for free elections, empowerment of women, civil society, modernisation and fighting poverty.
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OSSIFIED ARAB ORDER
Analysts say the stagnant and ossified Arab order is not just a disaster for its citizens, but a worldwide threat that has spawned Islamist radicals hostile to the West and to Western support of the autocrats that mostly rule them.
"No one can deny that the Arab world is in urgent need of radical reform", says Patrick Seale, biographer of former Syrian strongman Hafez al-Assad. "With a few exceptions, its social, political and economic life is profoundly stagnant and corrupt".
"Political freedoms, pluralism, social justice, good governance and the rule of law are all absent. In many countries, ruling elites have remained in power for far too long and have robbed their countries with impunity".
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Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two key U.S. allies, rejected the U.S. initiative outright and warned Washington against imposing ready made recipes for reforms.
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http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?type=worldNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4659699
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