In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Shadi Hamid – author of the new book The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea – addresses democratic dilemmas that cannot be wished away; explains how he distinguishes between liberalism and democracy and why he proposes a democracy-first strategy; assesses the democratic record of Islamist political movements and parties; and discusses how the US could use its leverage in the Middle East to support or even foster democratic change.

Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., a contributing writer at The Atlantic and an assistant research professor of Islamic Studies at Fuller Seminary.

The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea is published by Oxford University Press.

In collaboration with Lucie Hunter