Realism and Democracy
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America is turning away from support for democrats in Arab countries in favor of 'pragmatic' deals with tyrants to defeat violent Islamist extremism. For too many policymakers, Arab democracy is seen as a dangerous luxury. In Realism and Democracy, Elliott Abrams marshals four decades of experience as an American official and leading Middle East expert and shows that deals with tyrants will not work. Islamism is an idea that can only be defeated by a better idea: democracy. Through a careful analysis of America's record of democracy promotion in the region and beyond, from the Cold War to the Obama years, Abrams proves that repression helps Islamists beat democrats, while political openings offer moderates and liberals a chance. This book makes a powerful argument for an American foreign policy that combines practical politics and idealism and refuses to abandon those struggling for democracy and human rights in the Arab world.
Elliot Abrams
Elliot Abrams is a partner at the Raleigh, North Carolina, law firm Cheshire Parker Schneider, PLLC, where he focuses his practice on criminal defense and other high-stakes litigation. Mr. Abrams is a graduate of Georgetown University Law School, and he obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Mr. Abrams has tried and won multiple state and federal trials. And he has successfully utilized the Rule-Out method in a first-degree murder trial, in which the FBI was the lead investigative agency, as well as in a separate federal criminal trial.
In 2023, Mr. Abrams won the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year award for obtaining the largest trial verdict in U.S. history in a wrongful conviction case. He has also successfully litigated a number of appeals and licensing board trials, and he has represented multiple people accused of wrongdoing by the NCAA, including a former head coach of an ACC basketball team.
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