Al-Dimuqratiya,
Vol. 4, No. 15, July 2004, Cairo

Western thinkers frequently accuse the Middle East of lacking political and intellectual dynamism. How many times since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have they cited the fact that the Arab world produces fewer books each year than Greece? Dissemination of knowledge and political development undoubtedly remain limited in the contemporary Arab world, but the region’s new emphasis on reform—epitomized by increasing numbers of activists and region-wide summits on democracy—has increased the potential for democratic change.

One welcome product of this change is the Cairo-based, Arab-language quarterly al-Dimuqratiya (Democracy). The journal, which emerged in January 2001, is a boon for analysts interested in both political development and quality scholarly work by Arabs for an Arab audience. Loosely resembling the American Journal of Democracy, al-Dimuqratiya intends to provide a window on the thinking of Arab reformers. Until recently, they remained outside mainstream Arab political thinking, thanks to rampant deliberalization in the Arab world during the 1990s.

Some Egypt watchers may have a jaundiced view of the journal because of the close association between its publisher, the Al-Ahram foundation, and the Egyptian government. But the affiliation has not yet dampened the journal’s quality. Al-Dimuqratiya editor and Egyptian political scientist Hala Mustafa has a reputation for intellectual independence.

In the July 2004...