Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Mubarak's victory represented a step toward opening up a persistently autocratic regime. It revitalized the political scene and partially minimized citizens' apathy toward politics. However, to describe the election as a historic breakthrough or as a shift toward a new pattern of state-society relationship is misleading. The election was not competitive and its conduct clearly undemocratic.
On September 21, 2005, the Carnegie Endowment hosted a meeting titled "Russia as Chairman of the G-8." Anders Aslund, Director of the Carnegie Russian and Eurasian Program, Rose Gottemoeller, Carnegie Senior Associate, and Michael McFaul, Carnegie Senior Associate, gave presentations. Vice President for Studies George Perkovich moderated the discussion.
Arabs indisputably desire more predictable, responsive, and fair laws, even as the Middle East presents acute challenges to rule-of-law reform. To achieve the most success, the United States should focus less on the performance of courts and concentrate on building a broad social understanding of legal rights and respect for the law’s authority.