The Carnegie Center’s Amr Hamzawi says, in the broadest sense, the events in Tunisia unfolded much as they did in other parts of the world, from Eastern Europe, to Latin America and several Asian nations. The Arab world, he says, is not immune to democracy.
"It is a confirmation that we are not an exception to humanity," Hamzawi said. "Arabs wish to see accountable governments, wish to see better power distribution, wish to see checks and balances. They do not like authoritarianism, and they acted in that spirit in Tunisia."
Hamzawi says each country has a tipping point, but when it would be, and how it would play out, is anyone’s guess.
I certainly don't assume that Tunisia is the wave of the future for the Arab world or even just North Africa. For one, we don't know how Tunisia will turn out, so how can we debate whether it is the template for other countries?
But I also never believed that Moslems or Arabs don't want what we take for granted--real democracy, personal freedom, and civil rights. They may not want those things in exactly the same fashion that we do (any more than American, Japanese, Mexican, British, or French democracy are the same), but they clearly aren't content with the authoritarian rulers who rule for the benefit of themselves and their supporters.
