Islamist setbacks: a blow to Arab Democracy?

Michael Allen over at Democracy Digest highlights a number of ‘Islamist setbacks’ around the Arab world, and points to several articles including one by Roula Khalaf at the Financial Times which states, “Some western governments might be tempted to take comfort in the setbacks suffered by groups that often hold deeply anti-American views and promote social policies that would undermine the few rights now accorded to Arab women. Yet it is Arab democracy – and the region’s future stability – that has been dealt a blow, given that Islamists remain the main opposition and that a democratic future excluding them is difficult to imagine.”