The idealistic goal of democracy promotion has often been stymied by other strategic interests, such as the desire to maintain good relations with friendly autocratic regimes in the region that provide the United States with valuable cooperation in the war on terror, and help mediate the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah produced a dramatic resurgence of Saudi-Syrian tensions, which have been boiling beneath the surface since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and fueled by Assad's strategic alignment with Iran.

As Editor-in-Chief of a Cairo-based publication on democracy, Dr. Hala Mustafa brings an insider’s perspective on the struggle to liberalize Egyptian politics. She argues that the choice between authoritarianism and Islamism in Egypt is a false one. American policy towards democratization in Egypt can help pave a third path if it focuses on strengthening liberal democrats, and not just the democratic process.

Until 2005, President Hosni Mubarak's rule had been characterized by a reluctance to carry out political reforms. As a reason, the regime consistently claimed that stability would be undermined if the door for political reform were opened. By contrast, in 2005, after much internal pressure, the Egyptian regime implemented some limited political reform.

The author urges policy makers in the United States to seize this moment in history to ensure that democracy takes root in Lebanon and offers several proposals for doing so.

The late Syrian President Hafez Assad's success in maintaining his grip on power for three decades depended greatly on his skillful use of coercion and cooptation to divide opponents of the regime along ethnic, sectarian, and ideological lines.