Autocracy as we understand it today is a modern creation. I think there we see very few successful examples of modern autocracies that are able to sustain themselves.

Shadi Hamid

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Shadi Hamid is a columnist and member of the Editorial Board at The Washington Post. He is also a research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary and the co-host of the podcast Wisdom of Crowds. His most recent book is The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:32
• The Problem of Democracy - 2:25
• Islamism - 5:51
• Turkey - 22:47
• Autocratic Rulers - 32:20

Key Links

The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea by Shadi Hamid

Follow Shadi Hamid on Twitter @shadihamid

Wisdom of Crowds

Democracy Paradox Podcast

Robert Kaplan on the Politics of the Past and Future of the Greater Middle East

Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq

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