Bernard Lewis maintained Arabs were unsuited to Western-style democracy even after the Arab Spring.

Evidence

Despite the wave of movements against dictatorship, the doddering old Orientalist Bernard Lewis continued to maintain that democracy will not work for Arabs; a consultative system that comes out of traditional Islamic culture would be better. As he put it, “We, in the Western world particularly, tend to think of democracy in our own terms—that’s natural and normal—to mean periodic elections in our style. But I think it’s a great mistake to try and think of the Middle East in those terms and that can only lead to disastrous results, as you’ve already seen in various places.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 211 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Even in the twenty-first century, the natives, the unwashed masses, still don’t know better. Their systematic organizing and Twitter-based publicity for free elections, more political parties, and greater political freedom are best ignored; instead the West, which still knows best, should guide them to accept Islamic forms of governance for which they are better suited. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 384 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Bernard Lewis argued Arabs are unready for Western-style elections — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 211; Bernard Lewis still argued in the 2000s that Arabs were unfit for democracy; Orientalist denial of Arab democratic capacity persisted through and beyond the 2011 Arab Spring — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 384 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Bernard Lewis argued Arabs are unready for Western-style elections #corroborates (1.00) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 211
• Bernard Lewis still argued in the 2000s that Arabs were unfit for democracy #corroborates (0.93)
• Orientalist denial of Arab democratic capacity persisted through and beyond the 2011 Arab Spring #expands (0.88) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 384
• Zakaria and Lewis framed Islam’s failure through rival racist essentialisms. #expands (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 500