This House Believes George W Bush was right

DATE: Thursday, 17 February 2011

TIME: 7.30pm

VENUE: Harcourt Arms, 32 Harcourt Street, London W1H 4HX

MOTION: This House Believes that George W Bush was right


Background:

The recent resignation of the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia in the face of mass protests have raised the possibility of democratic reforms in the Middle East.

Democracy in this region has always been a tricky subject for the West to deal with. Throughout the latter part of the 20th century the mantra was: "He may be a son of a bitch, but at least he was our son of a bitch", or in other words it didn't matter what a dictator did to his people as long as he gave the West assistance when requested.

This theory was challenged after the 9/11 attacks. George W Bush actively sought to replace anti-US dictators not with pro-US dictators but with western style democracies. Supporters of this policy said that the best way to stop terrorist forces like Al-Qaeda from taking over in the Middle East was to promote democracy.

Although dismissed after the invasion of Iraq, it seems George W Bush's democraticising theory may simply have been ahead of its time. But does it really work? Internationally observed elections in Palestine led to the election of Hamas, a group which is widely regarded as being responsible for terror attacks on Israel.

Is it right for the West to start supporting democracy in the Middle East, even if that results in the election of groups we don't like? How should our leaders respond to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt?

You decide.

Debate format:

There will be four speakers in this debate, each of whom will have five minutes to make their case. After that there will be an extensive Q&A session to allow the audience plenty of time to have their own say from the floor. The motion will then be put to a vote.

There's always plenty of time to grab a drink and get settled before the event starts too and we always stick around for a few more once it's over as inevitably that is always when the real debating begins.

If you have any questions or need any more information, do not hesitate to email us at central.debating@gmail.com.

Getting there:

If you would like to watch this debate, then simply come along on the night. You will find us in the upstairs dining room of the Harcourt Arms pub at 32, Harcourt Street W1H 4HX (a max 1o min walk from Baker St tube). For directions, see this map.

Admission:

Admission is, as ever, totally free of charge. All are welcome, so if you know anyone who might be interested in this debate, do feel free to bring them along.

Further reading:

Background:
1) Tunisian President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali forced out (BBC)
2) Egypt President Hosni Mubarak stands down (BBC)
3) Bush demands democracy in the Middle East (BBC)

Commentary and opinion:
1) Predicting the revolution (Shadown Government)
2) America's embarrassing allies (Foreign Policy)
3) Egypt's revolution; Bush's victory (New York Times)
4) George Bush's liberal legacy (Spiegel Online)
5) Was George W Bush right? (The Economist)
6) Problem with democratisation as a strategy (bnet)


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