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Page 3 of 7

• 1. Civilisation as we know it
• 2. After the Ottoman Empire
• 3. Democratic tyranny?
• 4. The 'Islamic threat'
• 5. 'Westernese'
• 6. Telling tales
• 7. Find out more
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Democratic tyranny?

In their attempt to bring order to the post-Ottoman Middle East, the western powers have become implicated (sometimes unfairly and sometimes with good reason) with rulers who are able to rule without having to depend on the ruled for their legitimacy. Unknown to most Americans, their government is held responsible for providing moral and material support to regimes that are based on the repression of most of their population.

Before the United States declared Saddam Hussein to be the most dangerous man alive (forgetting in passing that the use of weapons of mass destruction is not the prerogative of homicidal dictators alone - after all the first person to gas the Kurds was Winston Churchill and the only person to nuke two cities was Harry S Truman, both democratically elected), it supported him in his invasion of Iran, ignored his use of chemical weapons against the Iranians and later his own people, and was not too bothered about his human rights record until he invaded Kuwait.

'Globalisation, by making the distinction between home and abroad less clear cut, has meant that it is more difficult to sustain democracy at home and tyranny abroad.'

The history of western powers demonstrates that it is perfectly possible to have democracy at home and exercise tyranny abroad. Both France and Britain maintained relatively free 'democratic' societies while exercising authoritarian control over their imperial possessions.

Globalisation, by making the distinction between home and abroad less clear cut, has meant that it is more difficult to sustain democracy at home and tyranny abroad. It is globalisation that has helped change the struggles about controlling the post-Ottoman Middle East into a broader conflict, often represented as the 'Islamic threat'.

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Published: 2002-09-01