In this episode of Democracy Ideas, Forum Executive Director Christopher Walker discusses with Larry Diamond the most common misimpressions about ongoing transitions to democracy after the Arab Spring. Larry Diamond also analyzes key developments in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen and encourages the international community to continue supporting democratic activists in these three countries.
Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Affairs at Stanford University, where he also directs the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. He is co-chair of the Forum Research Council and co-editor of the Forum’s Journal of Democracy. His most recent book is The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Around the World (Times Books, 2008) and his research and policy analysis are focused on the relationship between democracy, governance, and development in poor countries, particularly in Africa.
Read “Why Are There No Arab Democracies?” by Larry Diamond in the Journal of Democracy (Jan. 2010).
Watch Part I of the Forum’s Democracy Ideas interview with Larry Diamond on “Is There an Alternative to Democracy?”