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Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.

He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.

In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.

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For people living outside the Arab world there are some deeply entrenched stereotypes linked with life there. First and most important is the hyperbolized role of Islam, a religion that even some prominent western analysts suggest to be incompatible with modernization and human rights. For them it suffices to declare one particular country predominantly Muslim in order to answer anything related to its social, political and economic structures. The second stereotype is perhaps oil.

The Arab world and oil are perceived as interconnected, but some Arabs aren't Muslims; many Muslims aren't Arabs; and, many Arab countries have no oil resources. Putting the sign of equality between Arabs, oil and Islam and declaring this part of humanity completely incompatible with the modernization and eventually the post-modernization reflects very limited knowledge of some real facts that surround us.

First; some Christians, not so long ago by history standards, were obliged to make prayers 8 times a day and to fast during at least half of the farming season. Such was the picture in Russia at least until the beginning of 20th century. Western Europe wasn't less religiously fervent at least until 14-15th century.

Second; in Salem, Massachusetts, the court files of the witch-hunts' processes some 300 years ago still witness the level of religious intolerance. Some people were sentenced to death only because some other people in the community got ill. Do we need more examples showing that Christianity then was highly intolerant cult, incompatible with our modern views of civil society? So, if the Christian religion was able to evolve into our modern world why can we refuse the right of other religions to evolve too? Their evolution may not be easier and quicker; why should it be? By which universally accepted standard should time in 21st century Morocco run quicker than in 19th century Russia? Why should reforms that took centuries in the West take mere years in the East?

As we begin a series of articles on different Arab countries, about their political, social and economic life, we should make some preliminary notes, applying to all of them.

• The process of modernization in general and democratization in particular isn't a one-way road where the goal is certain and every runner should be given a medal. Some countries have tried to apply modernization without democratization based on their huge oil resources. Other states by lack of resources still try to decelerate the modernization with all means. They all fear uncontrolled popular revolutions and most of all, revolutions that are manipulated by their neighbors. In this respect the pan-Arabic and pan-Islamic ideologies are perceived as a danger for the authoritarian rulers. The West still prefers to do business with these authoritarian regimes, as was the case in Iran before 1979 and to hope for their gradual liberalization. With no external pressure these regimes won't be likely to give up their almost absolute power, based on external rents and on no internal taxation and accountability.

• The West in the last 3 decades has been taken hostage to the regional authoritarian regimes by its dependence on oil imports. With this dependence increasing, many Arab countries feel free to suppress any popular revolt, because they aren't dependent on public taxation for their survival. "No representation without taxation!" is the reverse motto of the political survival in the Middle East and North Africa. It's not surprising that exactly in the countries with low level of external rents (oil incomes, military and humanitarian assistance) the push for more liberalization is bigger.

• Arab countries have higher military expenditures than most of the industrial developed countries. These strong military machines are ideal tools for dealing with social dissent of any kind. On the other hand, these strong armies are result of a long process of growing regional clients by their overseas masters.

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