"Suddenly and unpredictably, non-violent mass demonstrations and protests erupted throughout the Arabic-speaking world in the spring of 2011, as large numbers of ordinary Arabs sought to take their political fate into their own hands and shape a better future for themselves. The optimism of their aspirations and the bravery of their efforts met with sympathy and excitement around the globe. For the first time, people in countries across North Africa...

"America is turning away from support for democrats in Arab countries in favor of "pragmatic" deals with tyrants to defeat violent Islamist extremism. For too many policy makers, Arab democracy is seen as a dangerous luxury. In Democracy and Realism, Elliott Abrams marshals four decades of experience as an American official and leading Middle East expert to show that deals with tyrants will not work. Islamism is an idea that can only be defeated by...

"Less than twenty-four months after the hope-filled Arab uprising, the popular movement had morphed into a dystopia of resurgent dictators, failed states, and civil wars. Egypt's epochal transition to democracy ended in a violent military coup. Yemen and Libya collapsed into civil war, while Bahrain erupted in smothering sectarian repression. Syria proved the greatest victim of all, ripped apart by internationally fueled insurgencies and an externally...