Book Review: "The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East" by Barry Rubin (2005)

This book by Council on Foreign Relations fellow Barry Rubin is an exhaustive and scholarly look at the struggles faced by moderates in the Middle East as they wrestle with their attempt to provide a third option between the status quo of corrupt dictatorships and the path to paradise that is promised by radical Islamists. He takes a look at the struggles of reformers to establish a free press, women's rights, a fair shake for Israel, and come to terms with the Iraq war, all within the history of pan-Arabic nationalism that makes independent thinking in the region next to impossible.

Dense and not for the layperson, what Rubin demonstrates over and over again is just how facile the "no blood for oil" and "Bush lied, thousands died" line of protest is. Middle Eastern politics is extremely intricate, paradoxical and complex. We need books like this to help us interpret what is without question the penultimate question facing human kind right now: is Islam compatible with liberal, capitalist democracy or not?

Rubin's prose is readable yet the weighty treatment he gives the subject matter is extremely dense, so much so that I will probably have to read this one again to comprehend all of what he brings to the page. For those who want to explore these issues, I'd recommend Noah Feldman's "After Jihad" to start with, and leave Rubin alone until much further down the road.

A serious work for serious people who want to get beyond mere rhetoric and find out for themselves what is really at stake.

Overall rating: 8/10