Is Democracy So Rare in the Middle East?

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Tunisia is a plucky democracy that has seen leaders move away from winter takes all mine set. Why has democracy not taken hold in other countries? I mean, you have families that brought how too manual for inflict the most savage atrocities on their people. But egypt also suffered some bad luck, i think, who the individuals were who who were elevated in parni ino. Some of the best leaders leaving and not or staying and becoming ontrbeners or civil society members.

A former war correspondent and UN ambassador, Samantha Power has had her share of tough assignments. But writing a memoir about it all is also a daunting prospect. The format itself is a challenge: how do you convince the reader you’re worth spending time with? How do you paint a relatable portrait without oversharing and losing your dignity? For Samantha the answer was settling upon a purpose for her memoir and ruthlessly cutting out everything not in service of that.

Tyler and Samantha discuss that purpose and more, including what she learned as an Irish immigrant, the personality traits of good diplomats (and war correspondents), relations with China, why democracy is so rare in the Middle East, the truth about Richard Holbrooke, what factors mitigate against humanitarian intervention, her favorite memoir, how to get NATO members to spend more on defense, and whether baseball games are too long.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded July 30th, 2019 Other ways to connect

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