Head of Trend Middle East desk Rufiz Hafizoglu
After Turkey introduced the principle of 'zero problems with neighbors' in its policy, fundamental changes took place in Ankara's policies with regards to the region countries. The policy of 'zero problems with neighbors' covers countries from the Balkans to the South Caucasus, Russia and the Arab world.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's policies, which also include Ankara's relations with Armenia, sustained a fiasco in the direction of Armenia, but justified in relations with Iran, the Balkans and especially with the Arab countries.
Ankara has undertaken a number of successful steps to correct past political mistakes, as well as become a leading regional power and to 'conquer' the Arab world.
After the reforms that Turkey carried out under Recep Tayyip Erdogan's leadership, the Arabs would like to see their prime ministers such as Erdogan. He and Turkey turned into a new source of hope for the Arab world in need of democratic reforms.
The effect of transformations, undertaken by the Turkish political elite, and the changes in the country after that on Arab states was quite expected, because the Arab states need the Turkish model of democracy.
However, given the specificity of Arab states and Arab society, it is possible to see the futility of introducing the democratic practices of foreign countries in the Arab countries. A good example of this is Iraq, where still there is no political stability.
Naturally, the Arab countries are not on the same level of democracy and human rights.
One of the most developed countries in the Arab world in the field of democracy is Lebanon, where political interests of many states concentrate. Despite that the interests of the West, Saudi Arabia and Iran intertwine here, Lebanon can be considered the most democratic country in the Arab world.
After Lebanon, a relatively democratic country is Kuwait.
According to a joint study of the University of Maryland and Zogby International, mostly the Arabs need democracy.
According to a survey conducted among people aged 18-24 years, 98 percent of young Egyptians and 87 percent of Jordanians expressed a desire to live in democratic countries.
The most interesting thing is that the Western countries and the U.S. are not very interested in the democracy in Arab countries.
In fact, Iraq's events did not become a lesson for America, depreciatingly relating to democracy in Arab countries because at the moment, many Arab countries in terms of democracy and human rights do not concede Iraq during the rule of dictator Saddam Hussein there.
The reality is that the West and America sacrifice the democracy to their economic and political interests.
Changing the existing regimes in the Arab countries for the democratic systems is in the interests of people, but contrary to the interests of leaders. Arab leaders try to keep their power by all means.
However, the "people's revolution" in Tunisia has proven once again that the Arabs will not remain silent before the leaders turning the state property into their own private property. Arabs are ready for changes in the truest sense of the word.
People of the country went into the streets with the slogan "End of slavery" and the demand for Mubarak to retire despite the various forms of echoes of the Tunisian revolution in other Arab countries and a delay of the echo of the Tunisian revolution in Egypt, with an emergency situation lasting more than 28 years.
Of course, as opposed to the regime of Tunisian President Ben Ali, overthrowing Mubarak's regime will not be so easy and the Egyptians will be forced to make many sacrifices to gain democracy.
The change and democratization of power in Egypt will certainly have its influence on other Arab countries.
If the Egyptian revolution occurs, it is not ruled out that it will spread to neighboring Jordan, Algeria, Yemen and perhaps Saudi Arabia.