Article written by Mr. Mohamed Nourelddin Mahmoud – October 2025
Democracy is a much-used word nowadays. Common wisdom associates the word with free elections. Many politicians believe that democracy is the means to an end; have free elections in order to build a civilized society. Sadly, most of the “democrats” in the West accept this flawed concept that presents democracy as a tool for creating a civilized society. Chief among them were George Bush and Tony Blair who fell in love with their “Democratic Middle East” slogan.
So, is democracy a means to create a better society or is it a mechanism for protecting a better society? Let us look at the definition of the word
Literally, democracy means power of the people (combining the Greek words demos, meaning “the people,” and kratien, meaning “to rule”). It is used to describe a political system where the legitimacy of exercising power stems from the consent of the people. Accordingly, a democratic society/polity must have a representative government arrived at by free elections, where the power of the elected leaders is checked and restrained. Furthermore, the ruling majority must respect and guarantee civil liberties, such as freedoms of speech and association, free press and the right to practice different religious beliefs.
Experience has proved that sustainable and functioning democracy must be secular with an independent judiciary as well as an impartial army and police force. All of the above requirements are designed to protect an egalitarian and tolerant society rather than build one.
One free election or the overthrow of a dictator is not enough to change the political culture of a society overnight. Democracy is a highly evolved mechanism for maintaining the society we have achieved. Without good and respected laws, a commitment to essential human rights and the willingness to honour differences of birth, it is just a con game for bullies.
The over-hasty imposition of democracy, especially in countries that suffer from high illiteracy, can lead directly to a degeneration in the respect for human rights and the intensification of ethnic and religious polarization. The tragedies of Iraq, Nigeria and many other African countries are very good example of that. In a grim paradox, the “western democrats” insistence on instant democracy in shattered states (never in dictatorial ones with which they do lucrative business, of course) is the greatest cause of global instability.
Yet democracy is widely spread in Western Europe. Can we learn from that? What is the foundation upon which Western democracy was built? Let us examine the history and find out why democracy flourished in Western Europe and missed the Middle-East, India and China?
By the end of the fifteenth century most of the world powers in Asia and Europe had similar military and technological expertise; it was not obvious that Europe was poised to dominate much of the rest of the world. So why did the relatively unsophisticated people inhabiting Western Europe experience an overwhelming process of economic growth and technical innovations which enabled their countries to become the commercial and military leaders of the world by the beginning of twentieth century?
The answer is Europe’s geography. Europe’s landscape is fractured with mountain ranges and large forests separating the population centers in the valleys as well as a large number of rivers. It is also surrounded by the sea. Its climate alters considerably from north to south and east to west. The above features had a number of very important consequences, some of which are listed below.
1-At the beginning of the sixteenth century Europe’s main feature was its political diversity caused by its geography. Its geographical diversity made it difficult for a powerful leader/warlord to dominate all of Europe and it minimized the possibility that the continent could be overrun by an external power. Europe consisted of a cluster of city states, kingdoms and principalities who regarded each other as rivals rather than allies against Turkey, as exemplified in the conflicts and wars between Spain, England. France and Germany; Turkey had already occupied most of the Balkans.
However, wars between Spain, England. France and Germany also led to increased commerce in bulk commodities like timber, fish, clothes…etc which were essential material for the armies and the navies.
Compare this to the state of affairs in Asia where the Middle East and Turkey, India and China were ruled by sultans or kings, who insisted on uniformity in religion, government and army as well as commercial activities. Once a leader had defeated his enemies, he was not interested in furthering development in science or military technology.
On the other hand, the lack of central authority in Western Europe and the warlike rivalries among its various kingdoms and city states stimulated a constant search for military improvement, driven by technical innovations. Thus, the lack of obstacles to change coupled with the advances in science and military technology created an entrepreneurial environment that allowed Western Europe to enjoy constant economic growth and military effectiveness which, later on, helped them reap the benefits of colonization.
2- Europe’s varied regional climate led to the availability of a large number of different bulk products, such as timber, wine, grains, wool … etc. Here again Europe’s geography played a major role because transporting bulk products via waterways is much more economical than carrying them in small carriages powered by camels, donkeys or horses. Europe has many navigable rivers and being surrounded by seas provided a further incentive to the development of a thriving ship building industry; the availability of timber as a bulk product was an important factor. For example, it took about 6000 trees to build Nelson’s ship whereas you may not find 600 suitable trees for shipbuilding in the whole of Arabia!
3- Because trade in bulk commodities was carried through the rough waters of the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay and because long-range fishing became an important source of nutrients and wealth, tougher but bigger ships relying on wind power were developed. Thus, the invention of ocean going three mast ships, improved rudders and the use of compasses as well as fitting the sides of ships with many small bronze light weight cannons allowed the Europeans to build formidable navies which enhanced their abilities to increase their wealth. For example, the Spanish Queen Isabella defeated the Arabs in 1492 and forced them to leave Spain by using her navy to prevent the Amir of Grenada from receiving reinforcements from North Africa. The discovery of the Americas and all the gold and silver that was brought back to Europe as a result was another consequence of the improved shipbuilding technology.
The deployment of the three mast ships led to a thriving slave trade which played a major role in increasing the wealth of several European countries. For example, cotton mills and sugar whose raw materials were imported from the slave plantations in America and the Caribbean by ships, accounted for about 30% of Britain’s GDP during the nineteenth century. Later on, the use of steam power and fitting large guns in the middle of larger ships, in order to minimize the effect of gun recoil, enabled the European powers, in particular Britain, to rule the waves, practice gun-boat diplomacy and colonize large swathes of the world.
4- The above facts made it impossible for a single ruler/state to achieve the mastery of Europe because of the existence of a number of competing states who possessed the military means to preserve their independence.
5-The regular long-distance exchange of food and other product, by river and sea, in turn encouraged the growth of credit system and banking on an international level. The presence of a sound banking system played a major role in the wars between the different states; instead of increasing taxes to raise armies, rulers funded their armies with monies borrowed from banks. Banking was so important that it is believed that Britain defeated Napoleon because of its advanced banking system. More importantly, the industrial revolution could not have taken place in the absence of a functioning banking system.
Thus, the fractured geography of Europe enabled the creation of the entrepreneurial environment that was driven by wars amongst rival states which led to
- advances in science and military technology,
- increase of trade in bulk material and
- the establishment of a functioning banking system which led to the industrial revolution.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain and spread to Western Europe and the United States within a few decades, took place in the period from about 1760 to 1840. As a result of this major event in history, almost every aspect of daily life was influenced. In particular, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth.
Thus, capitalism, which resulted in increased general prosperity, was invented. The growth in wealth led to the creation of the ‘Middle Class’. Middle class is a group of people whose labour not only feeds them and clothes them but also enables them to accumulate wealth.
As people become richer, they will have natural aspirations for greater social and political freedom and pluralism. A growing middle class is the foundation of social stability in any country. Its culture rejects both the revolutionary tendencies of the poor and the inclination of the ruling rich to maintain reactionary practices designed to sustain their hold on wealth and power.
Middle classes have a strong interest in building the rule of law together with the protection of their property rights. A strong middle class will enforce their political commitment to human rights and the separation of God from Caesar as well as reinforce the willingness of the people to honour differences of birth and religion.
Thus, democracy became widespread in Europe after the industrial revolution and the introduction of capitalism which led to developed economies. One can only deduce from the above that a developed economy is important because as people become more prosperous, they develop natural aspirations for greater social and political freedoms as well as a strong interest in enforcing the rule of law.
Democracy is not the means to create a stable society. Democracy comes after the establishment of a society which enjoys the correct social and political interacting conditions. A developed economy is a prerequisite to a functioning and stable democracy because democracy is a mechanism for protecting a society with a developed middle class from the vagaries of dictatorship.
The obvious conclusion from all the above is that successful democratization in the ‘developing countries’ is dependent on their industrialization and economic development.
A dictatorial regime may generate prosperity for a time, but cannot sustain it in the face of corruption and continued denial of its citizens’ rights. When its citizens become more educated and slightly better off, their desire for more responsibility in their future is met with repression and imprisonment. The Soviet bloc is a clear example of the above. It eventually imploded because it could not meet the demands of its enlightened citizens.
Thus, the process of democratization in a developing country is dependent on nurturing the potential of its people’s enterprise fueled by local and international capital. However, for reasons that are quite understandable, capital, especially that of the foreign variety, is renowned for its cowardice and its tendency to shy away from politically unstable countries/ regions. Enterprise thrives in stable societies only. Therefore, the above social and political conditions that are needed to democratize a country cannot be maintained in the absence of security in that country and maybe its region.
A sustained state of security in a region demands a favourable international environment. This means that the foreign policies of the regional and international super powers must be conducive to the creation of stability in that region. Without this essential commitment, democracy becomes a pipedream; instability favors dictatorships
That is why democracy does not exist in countries of the Middle East and Africa. The creation of the state of Israel and the protection of repressive, tribal and reactionary states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, led to a very unstable Mid-East and the racist regimes of South Africa and Rhodesia played a major role in destabilizing Africa and allowing dictators and tribal leaders to rule.
Western politicians prefer to hide their heads in the sand instead of facing realities. They can’t recognize that there is a strong relationship between foreign policy-security-stability-economy-democracy. Instead they invented the new phrase of “War on Terrorism” to cover their flawed foreign policies in the Mid-East and Africa.
You can’t wage war against terrorism. Terrorism is a political strategy that is designed to bring about political/social change by inducing terror and fear through the violent destruction of targets. The effectiveness of the terrorist action lies not in the act itself, but in the public’s or government’s reaction to the act. Only illiterate politicians wage wars against strategies. You fight a strategy by a counter-strategy
Recently they have found another excuse for their criminal blunders in the Middle East, the Shia-Sunni divide.
So, instead of asking ‘Are the Arabs ready for democracy?’ we must ask ‘Are the Western politicians ready for democracy in the Middle East?’
List of some of the European Wars:
1-100year wars between England & France-1337-1453
2-Spanish-English Wars- 1585-1604
3-30year wars-1618-1648: Initially religious but later between states
4-7year wars- 1756-1763
5-Napoleonic wars- 1803-1815
Comments from friends who read the article
Hi: We cannot ignore the fact that war is the mother of technology and scientific innovations. You correctly emphasize the significance of increased trade, which led to banks and the industrial revolution, and the invention of ocean-going ships without which the Europeans could not project their colonial powers or practice slavery. Both slavery and colonialism generated huge fortunes. The colonies provided the industrial revolution cheap raw material as well as the required extra customers for its products
Hi Mahmood
Very interesting analysis with which I largely agree. Although you touch on it when you say that 30% of Britain’s GDP in the 19th century was derived from income from sugar and cotton in the New World, you don’t say that this, in turn, was the result of slave labour in the United States and Caribbean. The argument could then be that democracy as we know it could not have come into existence without that slave labour, the profits from which generated the Industrial Revolution and which led to the establishment of a thriving middle class.
And that is the irony and contradiction of Western democracy, fulfilled by slavery and the absorption of sections of the burgeoning middle class into the ruling land-owning class mainly descended from the ruthless Normans, who needed their money to maintain their position – which, incidentally, they still hold irrespective of our “democracy”.
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